True Beauty: Pride and Prejudice
by NuttyScribbler
Summary: Akane and Mitsui sets out that to prove that Opposites don't Attract, only to find out that they're not that different after all...
1. Part 1

**True Beauty – Part 1**

**By: Ghostwriter**

            'I can't believe it; I'm late on my first day of school!' an outrage cry rang through out the deadly silent halls. Footsteps skidded to a halt in front of the class and the door was rudely shoved open and a girl burst into the room panting heavily.

            'Gomen nasai, sensai…I had a mild accident this morning…' she kept her head bowed as she rambled of her excuses. Only when she finished 5 minutes later, did she dare lift her gaze to meet the class.

            To find three dozen pairs of amused and surprised faces staring back at her.

            She turned to look for the sensai in a bewildered state. 'He is not there yet,' a voice drawled from the opened doorway.

            Akane turned to find a _tall boy propped up against the doorway, surveying her with an expression of barely concealed amusement. His stubby bluish black hair was in fetching disarray and his had a gym bag slung casually on his left shoulder._

            'Oh.'

            Blushing to the roots of her hair, she walked between the desks and chose the seat right at the back of class, by the window. She desperately tried to ignore the whispers and looks thrown in her general direction. She knew they were talking about her. But not because she was tall, pretty or had really nice hair.

            It was because they think she is fat. Overweight. Unfit to walk in public.

            Actually, Akane isn't that terribly looking. (G.Writer: Do you think I'll purposely make my characters ugly? Even the villains are beautiful!) Her eyebrows were perfect arch and she had a pair of beautiful green eyes that shone with mirth. Her cheeks were rosy from the running and her hair swept back into a sensible ponytail.

            She's pretty tall too. It's just she didn't exactly have a perfect body. She still had her baby fat and her lust for food made it almost impossible for her to lose it.

            _And I had to make a fool of myself, Akane thought miserable. __Of all idiotic things to do! She slid quietly into her seat._

            All at once, the volume of the class increased. Jokes and laughter filled the air. Akane gazed out of the window, across the school compound, at the brilliant blue of the sea.

            'Hello.'

            Akane barely heard the voice. Someone tapped impatiently on her desk. Only then did Akane return to reality.

            'Yes?' she turned and looked up at her very pretty girl. The girl's light brown hair fell loosely around her and into her bright blue eyes. Behind her, stood two equally as pretty girls but wore the expression as though someone had permanently glued cow dung under their noses. Privately, Akane never understood how some of the girls can stand having their hair flying all around them. She found it extremely irritating.

            'I'm Chieko, the new recruiting officer for the WLR, and these are my friends, Hiromi and Kumiko.' she informed Akane haughtily. Akane continued to stare blankly at her. 'You don't know what the WLR is?' the girl demanded in a horrified tone.

            'Wild Life Resources?' Akane tried guessing

            'No!' Chieko practically screamed in fury. 'The 'We Love Rukawa' fan club!'

            'Oh…I see. So, what is your point of approaching me?' Akane leaned back against her chair.

            'As the recruiting officer of the WLR, my job is to let new people like you know the existence of this prestigious club. Since we are classmates, I feel it is my duty to take you under my wing. As a member, for a small fee, you will get matching pompoms, a uniform, and headband and of course, cheer leading practices. You will have to attend all of Rukawa-kun's practices and matches as well as all our meetings. However we might have trouble finding you your size and you will have to come for extra lessons,' she added, surveying Akane's figure critically.

            Akane's temper flared up at the instant she criticize her looks. No matter how much experience one gets from listening to criticism, one can never control one's fury. However, Akane had enough brains to keep her cool. She knew that it was a waste of time arguing with this crazed dim-wit fangirl.

            In a perfectly relaxed and calm composure, she raised an eyebrow at Chieko as if taunting her. 'Are you inviting me to be to be some a groupie for some dumb jock?' (G.Writer: Gomen ne. Don't get mad, Rukawa fans…I don't think he is dumb at all.)

            'Rukawa-kun is not some dumb jock,' Chieko retorted heatedly. 'He is a basketball genius…an ace rookie! He even got the chosen into the All Japan team last year. Even though his grades are slightly below average…'

            'Slightly below average coming from the recruiting officer of his fan club probably means he flunked ever darn paper he took and was forced to take remedial classes,' Anake declared. 'Which in other words say he is dumb.'

            'Why you fool!'

            'And I advise you to get out of my sight before I thoroughly lose my temper with you,' Anake informed her angry classmate. 'And no, I am not going to join your _club and make a further fool of myself by chasing some dumb jock that probably does nothing but eats, sleeps and plays whatever he plays and who probably doesn't even have a __pea in between his ears.'_

            'You'll pay for this,' Chieko said threateningly as she turned on her heel and stormed off with her friends behind her. Anake slumped into her seat, her face red and most of her confidence gone. She looked around and saw Chieko glowering at her from her place. For some strange reason, she felt oddly elated after that little run in with Chieko.

            'That was a pretty brave thing you did just now, standing up to Chieko like that. But I don't think she is going to let you get away with it,' a low voice came beside her. Anake turned and saw the same boy who had informed her that their teacher was not in yet. She wearily sighed and wondered is he friend or foe.

            He chucked at the weary expression on Akane's face. 'Don't worry; I'm not practically fond of Hamada Chieko myself. Her club's screaming often disturbs the accuracy of my shots.'

            Anake's eyebrows lifted slightly in surprise. 'You're a basketball player?' Actually, it wasn't that surprising for he is pretty tall and the gym bag shows that his is a sportsman.

            'Yep – on the same team as the infamous Rukawa Kaede,' he said wryly. 'I am Mitsui Hisashi,' he said as he offered her his hand.

            Anake placed her hand in his strong grip. 'I'm Katsura Akane. Please to meet you.'

Disclaimer: If I owned/created Slam Dunk, I would buy a nice big mansion and haunt it. Unfortunately, I'm still stuck in a dingy coffin.

Hey people.

My brand new fic! Mitsui and an all new character! I just love inventing characters for my favorite bishies! If you are already here, I'm sure you've finished the chapter right? So scroll lower and click the little oblong box that has the words 'Submit review' and type a few words of encouragement/comments/criticism/flames/hate mail/love letters/etc. ok? Arigato! 

            You might be wondering why I made Anake fat and overweight. The truth is I just had an awful dose of reality hours before I started this fic.

            I had a long talk with my friend. And I discovered that no matter what teenage guys state that they love a woman for who they are and not for their body or pretty face, they still crave for the perfect 'girl'. A perfect girl consists of the body of a goddess, the face of an angel and the mind of bird (bird-brain). Ok, I'm not saying all pretty girls are stupid – oh no! I'm just pointing out that sometimes; we tend to be so blinded by the outside to notice the inside of a person.

            Had anyone watched Shallow Hal? My storyline runs along the same lines but Mitsui does not get hypnotized! I'm just trying to ask people to look at things from different points of view before making a judgment. "What we are today is the result of yesterday's choices. Who we will be tomorrow is the results of today's decisions" – Pat Mesiti. Therefore, it is advisable for us to make our judgment as wisely as possible.

            Although I no longer believe that prince charming will just come and sweep me off my feet, I refuse to believe that true love no longer exists. I dedicate this fic to all the people that suffer from criticism because they are not beautiful in the eyes of the world.

            I know I'm being a big bore here, and you would probably not to want to hear me ramble on about my philosophy on life. Heck! I need to get a life. I hope you will enjoy reading this fic, regardless whether you understand the true meaning that I'm trying to imply. However, when you read this fic, always remember that Katsura Anake is not your average anime/original fanfic character; where they are tall, beautiful, and graceful and all those things. Trust me; you'll enjoy the story if you try to understand Katsura Anake the way I created her.

Haunts of Love,

GHOSTWRITER…

P/s: Actually, the other reason I created Katsura Anake this way is because I'm pretty sick of all those almost perfect characters that we fan fiction writers (including me) create. Sometimes, I feel they are so perfect to the point they seem _inhuman._


	2. Part 2

**Pride and Prejudice – Part 2**

**By: Ghostwriter**

**----------{@**

            _Life is so unfair, Akane grumbled to herself. Here she was, waiting for her teacher to start rambling on and on about something that only __God knows what, when she can be at home, in front of the TV. She cast a glance at her watch and groaned mentally. Her favorite anime is starting this very minute._

            She looked around the class. None of them were actually paying the geography teacher any attention. That girl, what's her name? Oh yeah – Chieko was busy batting her eyelashes at Mitsui-kun, who was apparently…sleeping. Akane laughed at the futility of her actions.

            'Attention, class,' the Anami-sensai called out, rapping his table. The class obliged him by turning their eyes on him, if not their total attention. The teacher, apparently satisfied with their degree of attentiveness, began his announcement. 

            'Holidays are already over and welcome back to school.' His announcement was greeted by a chorus of groans. Undaunted, he continued, 'Recently, a study had been carried out and it shows that students tend to do better if they account their actions to someone their own age. Apparently, the effectiveness of this method originated from peer pressure.'

            The Anami-sensai paused for a moment before continuing, 'The school faculty has decided to carry out a project with the entire student body. You all will be paired of into pairs. We are also appalled by the lack of _healthy interaction between boys and girls today.'_

            'What do you mean by lack of healthy interaction, sensai?' one of the boys called out from behind the room.

            'You know very well what I'm talking about, my boy,' Anami-sensai said flatly. 'I'm talking about your lack of ability to talk about anything that doesn't concern on the topic of mating when you are generally talking about the opposite sex.'

            Some of the girls blushed and some begin to protest. Anami-sensai held out his hand and silenced them. 'You will be paired off randomly and the partnership will last through out the entire year. You are responsible for your partner's actions as well as yours throughout the year. If he does wrong, you are going down with him too. He gets detention; you go into detention with him. He fails his exams; you sit through remedial classes with him. We hope that in this way, you all will learn how to handle responsibility of another person as well as learning to respect the members of the opposite…' His last words were completely drowned by the chorus of excited voices.

            Everybody started talking at once. Some were protesting and arguing with the holes in the project. But generally, they were discussing about the possibilities about who might their partner. Anami-sensai's browed furrowed as he surveyed the scene of forty hormone crazed teenagers who were examining the prospect of being on intimate terms with a member of the opposite gender through out the year.

            Oh great, Akane groaned helplessly as she slid further in her chair. Now she is faced with the nightmare of being paired off with a guy for the entire year. She can only hope that he will be a nice guy and not an egoistical b*stard that thinks he owns the world just because he is a tiny bit better looking than other people. _Maybe I'll get paired off with Tamazaki, she thought hopefully._

            'Ok, lets settle down and get on with the show,' Anami-sensai's mouth twitched a little as he produced a box from under his table. 'In this box are the names of all the female students in this class. Will the gentlemen please step forward as I call your name and pick a name from the box. The person whose name you pick will be your partner for the year. Ariwara Heiji…'

            A boy with sleek black hair rose from his chair and walked towards the box. He plunged his hand in and withdrew, with a slip of white paper in his hand. He unfolded it and then read it out in a clear voice, 'Ikeda Hiroko.'

            The pretty brunette blushed as Ariwara sat down. The ritual continued and Akane's heart beat faster as each of her male classmates went up and picked up that tiny slip of paper that can bring both joy and torment. Some of them were happy with their partners but some of them were downright disgusted with each other.

            'Mitsui Hisashi,' the Anami-sensai announced. Mitsui stood up in easy grace and reached the sensai's desk in four strides. Akane marveled at how tall he was.  He put his hand in through the hole cut on the lid of the box. The remaining girls looked at him hopefully, praying that it would be them – with the exeption of Akane, who was praying for the complete opposite.

            She prayed so hard, she thought God might be kind enough to answer her prayers. Not that she holds a grudge at Mitsui or anything, in fact she thinks of him as a nice guy. But from facts and rumors, she knew that if they get paired of together, she will be spending more time in detention and remedial classes than she already had.

            Imagine her expression of comical disbelief when he looked at her straight in the eye and announced in an amused voice, 'Katsura Akane.'

            Several things happened at once. Akane felt the intense heat of twenty other pairs of female eyes on her as she cradled her face in her hands, groaning and berating God for allowing this to happen. She could have sworn that she heard a voice somewhere in her head say, 'Akane, I _made this happen.' Akane shook her head as she thought to herself; __I must be losing my mind._

            She looked up and stole a glance at her new partner, shocked to find that he had been looking at her with barely suppressed laughter. Casually, he leaned over and whispered something under the cover of the racket their fellow classmates were creating.

            'Sure the thought of being my partner for a year is not all that distressing.' Her face cracked up into a smile when she realized that he wasn't that bad after all. At least he is not the kind to look down at her as if she was some kind of alien because of her appearance. 'Not at all,' she whispered back. She looked straight in front just as Tamazaki's name was called. There were only four other names in the box.

            And one of them was Hamada Chieko's. Akane watched on gleefully as Tamazaki announced to the class nervously, 'Hamada Chieko.'

            'No!' Chieko shrieked shrilly. 'I refuse to accept this!' she cried as she brought her fist down on her desk forcefully.

            'Hamada-kun, you have no say in this,' Aname sensai informed her coldly.

            'I'll ask my father to complain.'

            'Be my guest,' Anami-sensai glared at the spoilt girl. 'We have already got approval from the ministry. In fact, the minister himself sent us a letter of commendation on our efforts "to build a better and stronger generation which will one day be the pillar of strength to the country",' he quoted from the letter the principal had shown around with pride this morning. In fact, he had that very letter framed up and was hanging in his office at this exact moment.

            The fact that the geek of the year had been paired off with one of the legendary school beauties was so ironic that Akane couldn't resist giggling. Her giggling soon turned into infectious snorts of laughter. Mitsui too joined her and soon the class was laughing their heads off.

            _Tamazaki-kun may be a geek, but he is a geek with a big heart, Anake sobered up when she remembered she was laughing at the expense of he first real friend in this school. She was hopelessly lost this morning in this enormous campus when a boy stopped and offered her assistance. _

            Tamazaki looked around the class, his face red from his obvious embarrassment. His clothes were a few sizes too large, and he was so skinny that you can almost see right through him. He wore a pair of glasses so big that it almost hid his entire face behind it. Chieko was being consoled by her two friends.

            Soon, the entire class was satisfactorily paired up. _We have some of the most unusual pairs, Akane noted. Fukuzawa, the school loud mouth was paired off with Morimoto Yumiko, the residential genius. She knew that Yumiko was way smarter than the entire class and if not the entire school because they are very good friends. Even after Akane had moved to Tokyo with her parents, they continued to write and occasionally visit each other._

            'Ok, since we are all nicely paired off now, the school has also insisted that the students sit with their respective partners. So kindly join up the tables and sit with your partners,' Anami-sensai instructed.

            The class complied and the sound of tables and chairs being dragged filled the air. Mitsui looked over at his new 'partner' and wondered what she is really like. _Well, I can testify that she has a really sharp tongue, Mitsui grinned as he remembered how she flayed that brat, Chieko alive earlier on._

            Suddenly, a horrifying roar came from the first year's corridor. It was so loud that everyone stopped whatever they were doing. Even Chieko ceased to bemoan how unjust the way they got paired up was.

            Mitsui immediately identified the owner of the voice as a certain brash red head from his basketball team that can outfight anyone in a street fight. More importantly, he remembered that a certain boy with fox like eyes had been moved into the same class as him that term. Whatever Sakuragi was roaring about, Mitsui certainly pitied the sensai who was in his class at that moment.

----------{@

Disclaimer: I do not own Slam Dunk, and fortunately so. If I did, we would be certain that there won't be a second season at all.

Hey people, 

            I'm glad you all like this story…*gigglez* I was scared you all will be unwilling to accept an imperfect character. Anyway, I'm off to type the next chapter….so tata…sigh….s…next chapter coming right up

Haunts of Love,

Ghostwriter…


	3. Part 3

**Pride and Prejudice – Part 3**

**By: Ghostwriter**

**----------{@**

            Silence followed after the loud eruption from whom Mitsui was certain is the dim-witted red head. Mitsui started to worry. He might have aggravated the injury in his back. After all, he just came back from rehabilitation.

            And Rukawa had to come back from the All Japan training as well. The peacefulness after the two had left immediately seemed like a sweet spring dream to the entire Shohoku basketball team. But there was no denying the fact that they missed them. Even Rukawa's icy presence was welcomed back with enthusiasm.

            And of course, Sakuragi had enough enthusiasm on his own return to drown the entire team. He had leapt everywhere like a wild monkey, jumping up to touch the rim of the hoop lovingly. And also pinching Anzai-sensai's chins none too respectively. (Ghostwriter: Gee…I rhymed!)

            The moment of tensed silence passed and immediately came with an even stronger force of another cry. This time, Mitsui could have sworn he distinctly heard the words 'Baka Kitsune.'

----------{@

'Satisfied with your new partner?' Akane asked as she gathered up her books. Yumiko waited for her and they walked down the crowded hallways. 'Pretty much, Fukuzawa-kun is not as bad as many presume. In fact, he is quite,' she paused, searching for the perfect word, 'nice.'

            Akane raised an eyebrow delicately at her. 'The Yumiko I know practically memorized the entire dictionary by heart and the only word she finds suitable to describe the guy's personality which she will be working with the entire year is,' she paused for the effect, '_nice?'_

            Yumiko's cheeks tinted slightly. 'What words do you expect me to use?'

            'I don't know. I would have used idiotic, dimwit, brainless, rubbish, crappy, jackass, foolish and utterly insensitive,' Akane finished her long list of adjectives that described Fukuzawa Kyoichi with a flourish. By then, Yumiko's face had already turned in to an enchanting shade of crimson red.

            'Oh no, do not tell me you still have that crush on him,' Akane said faintly. 'You've had it since, lets see,' she said as she balanced her thick stack of books and made a show by counting the fingers on her left hand, 'since we were thirteen.' 

            Yumiko confirmed that statement by blushing even harder. Akane stopped teasing her for fear that her friend's complexion will remain that red always. She stopped in front of her locker and entered the combination. Yumiko hurried down the hall to her locker. 

            _Honestly, the school is taking this project way too seriously, Akane thought as she swung her locker open. They had even allocated their lockers according to their pairing. She stuffed her load of books into her and grabbed the paperback containing her lunch which she had bought from the 24 hour store on her way to school._

            Heavy footsteps came in her direction as she slammed her locker door shut. She turned, intending to race down the hall in Yumiko's direction when someone tapped her shoulder briskly. She turned and came face to face with Mitsui Hisashi.

            'Er – 'he scratched his head as he thought of how to phrase his words.

            'Yes?' she asked, trying not to show her impatience.

            _How come I can shout threats at men almost twice my size but for some unknown reason can't even talk properly with this small, he looked down at the figure who was staring up at him with impatient green eyes, __ok, not that small girl?_

            'Has the cat gotten your tongue?' she demanded irrationally. 'My neck is starting to ache staring up at you like that.'

            _Well, she certainly gift of gab, Mitsui thought wryly._

            'Would you like to eat lunch with me?' he blurted out. 'I mean, we are going to work together for the whole year, and I would like to get to know you better. You know, see if we can err – bear with each other…if not we can always see if we can swap partners with the others before it is too late…'

            _This guy certainly has foresight, Akane admitted grudgingly. 'Erm – sure. Would you mind terribly if I brought Yumiko along?'_

            'Who?'

            'My friend, our class mate,' Akane informed him.

            'Uh – sure. Meet you at the cafeteria later! Ja!' she waved as she raced down the hall.

----------{@

            'Did you hear Sakuragi's scream just now?' Mitsui asked as he slid into the booth where the others were. The entire basketball team with the exception of Sakuragi, Rukawa and Haruko was there. Somehow, the memory of Sakuragi's roar lingered in his mind. He could have been screaming in pain. _Did that baka injure his back again? Mitsui wondered. He couldn't have. __If he did, Akagi will not be sitting here so calmly, reading a book, he decided. _

'Anyone who did not hear must go see an ear specialist. In fact, I won't be surprised if all the people in his class are outside the sickroom now, waiting for treatment from shock as well as a test to see if their hearing had been permanently affected,' Miyagi snorted. 'I was in the science lab across the campus when he performed that stunning feat, and even there, it was clearly audible.'

            Just then, Yohei and Haruko appeared at their table. Mitsui then remembered that they are in the same class as Sakuragi and Rukawa as well. 'What happened in your class just now? Did Hanamichi injure his back?'

            Yohei and Haruko exchanged uneasy looks and Yohei began to relate the tale.

**********FLASHBACK**********

            'Rukawa Kaede,' Endo-sensai called out. Rukawa had walked stonily towards the table and thrust his hand into the box. There wasn't even a flicker of emotion when he read out the name on the slip, 'Sakuragi Hanamichi.'

            Silence had filled the air. A draft of wind blew into the classroom, making some of them shiver. Everyone stared at one another for confirmation of what they had just heard. Rukawa Kaede had picked the name Sakuragi Hanamichi.

            Sakuragi Hanamichi.

            Sakuragi Hanamichi.

            Sakuragi Hanamichi.

            The name continuously echoed in everyone's mind. Nobody even moved a muscle. Rukawa Kaede has just been paired up with Sakuragi Hanamichi, everyone reviewed in sick horror, a sense of dread seeping into every pore of their being. The sensai moaned in dismay. Why had it to be Rukawa to pick that name?

            The reason that the shock lingered endlessly in the room, beside the fact that one block of iceberg that never showed a single humane emotion in the entire time had just been paired of with one childishly immature guy who head butts anything that dare stand in his way and provoke his temper and that they are both _male, is the general knowledge of their state of 'friendly' rivalry against each other._

            The tensed stillness was broken by a mighty roar. Everyone turned towards the originator of the sound, the wild red head that was looking like the angel of retribution, his hair which had already grown out, flaring in the wind as he was sitting at the seat beside the window.

            'Put your hand in and pick another name. That was a mistake!' Sakuragi insisted furiously. 'I cannot be paired up with you!'

            'Sakuragi-kun,' Endo-sensai began nervously, aware of the tension as the two incredibly tall boys stare at each other in the eye across the room. Sakuragi was livid with anger and his face was as red as his hair. Rukawa was just Rukawa – emotionless.

            'We are short of one girl in the class. There fore it is necessary for you to be paired up with a boy,' Endo-sensai explained. Actually, the real reason was that the school authorities feared for the safety and sanity of his partner. It was decided that a boy would be much more appropriate. At least, the boy will have a chance against Sakuragi if he suddenly decided to launch into one of his unfounded rages.

            But then again, no one has any hope of escaping if Sakuragi chose to go into one of his unfounded rages. Like the one he was having now.

            'Do'aho.' The person who said it was none other than a certain black haired, fox-eyed boy. (Ghostwriter: DUH!)

            'BAKA KITSUNE!' Sakuragi immediately rushed forward. Actually, he was aiming at Rukawa, but the alarmed Endo-sensai thought he was the enraged red-head's target. 'STOP HIM!' he shrieked out shrilly as he hid beneath the table.

            Yohei noted with amusement as he rushed forward to prevent Sakuragi from doing irreparable damage on both Rukawa and Endo-sensai that how much fear Sakuragi can invoke when he gets angry. He didn't even have to strike them physically – yet. And the full grown man had been already frightened into seeking protection from a battered old wooden desk in front of a roomful of pupils.

            It took six of them to hold him back. And if Sakuragi's back had not suddenly given way, they would not have been half successful. Teachers from nearby classes came and managed persuade Endo-sensai to come out from within the table.

            It was later reported that a member of Rukawa's Brigade had said, 'At least Rukawa-kun is not paired of with any of the girls.'

**********END OF FLASHBACK**********

            Miyagi and Mitsui were positively howling with laughter long before Yohei finished recounting what happened. Even Kogure and Akagi had to suppress a smile. 'So where are they now?' Mitsui demanded after he stopped long enough to pose the question at him before breaking into fits of laughter again.

            'They are in the sick room, waiting for Sakuragi to get over his state of distress. After all, _they are partners,' Yohei stressed his last words meaningfully._

            Everyone started laughing again.

            'It's going to be one hell of a year,' Mitsui remarked grinning widely.

----------{@

Disclaimer: Short and Sweet…SD does not belong to me

Hey minna,

            I realized the foot note for the last chapter has been exceptionally short. That was because I was hurrying to post it up. *grinz* this is going to be a long, long fic so I hope you all are going to have lots of patience. Thanks to everyone who reviewed or mailed me or both.

            Bwah…I don't know why I added the little scene with Rukawa and Sakuragi…Have been thinking of doing a side story…a RuHana. Oh, in that fic, the only YAOI pairing is Rukawa X Hana…maybe a little Mitsui X Akane and Yohei X Haruko. I mean, I hate to think that all the eligible, handsome, funny bishie basketball players in Kanagawa are gays! Hey what do you think if I did all their romances in this year…ya know, revolving around the project? Come on, mail me and tell me what you think.

Anywayz, I have received complaints that my chapters are somewhat filled with grammar mistakes. I hereby apologize to everyone. After all, I am not a professional writer. Someone suggested that I get a beta reader; however, I can't seem to find one that can totally correct all my mistakes. Perhaps some kind soul will be happy to help me?

            Anyhow, there won't be as many grammar mistakes if I post later. Somehow, I don't like posting as soon as I finish because, like some of you have pointed out, there will surely be some mistakes here and there. And I can't change the storyline later if I want to. So guys, tell me what should I do? Should I take the effort to write two chapters and post one chapters and make you all wait for ages? Or will you bear with my slight grammatical errors? One can't have both ways, I must say.

Haunts of Love,

Ghostwriter…

P/S: *twiddling thumbs and looking all wide eyed innocence* you do know that a fan fic writer tends to write faster if she gets more response right? So you know what to do…


	4. Part 4

**Pride and Prejudice – Part 4**

**By: Ghostwriter**

**----------{@**

            Everyone ceased laughing when a shadow loomed over them. Sakuragi looked down upon them, scowling most ferociously. Rukawa stood behind him, and as usual, his handsome features looked as though they have been carved out of white marble.

            'How's your back, Hanamichi?' Mitsui asked, unable to resist a grin. 'Heard you yell from my class. You really like Rukawa a lot eh, yelling his nick name when you're in pain,' he snickered.

            'TEME MITCHY!' 

            'How many times must I tell you not to call me Mitchy?' Mitsui roared at him.

            'Who's Mitchy?' a voice asked loudly. 'Get out of my way, baka, your back is not as interesting as you think it is.' Akane pushed rather roughly pass the two boys with Yumiko in her wake. Rukawa was unruffled but Sakuragi looked livid.

            'Who are you to tell the Tensai what to do?' he thundered, venting his anger without seeing who it was. He looked down at Akane, who was standing in front of him, with her hands planted firmly on her ample hips. Mitsui grinned. Sakuragi is about to get the worst verbal battle he ever had the misfortune to get into.

            Sakuragi stared at her, as though she was some alien species that fell from the sky before bursting out laughing. 'Godzilla,' he pointed at her as he started laughing again. Everyone was aware of the scorching heat of anger that Akane was radiating. Yumiko noticed the small muscle twitching in Akane's jaw, a sure sign that she is awfully angry.

            'Akane…' Yumiko said warningly as she tried to calm her enraged friend. Too late.

            'BAKA NINJIN ATAMA!' she screamed at the red-head basketball player. Sakuragi was momentarily stunned at her outburst and stared down at her with a mixture of curiosity as well as annoyance. Not many people dared insult the Tensai, and even less females that even dared say an unkind word in his face.

            Akane was steaming with rage, longing to pick up a chair and bash it on his head. She stared defiantly at Sakuragi, meeting his eyes, blue fire dancing in her sea green eyes. He might be one and a half feet taller than her, probably twice as strong as her, but nobody insults Katsura Akane and gets away with it!

            'What did you call me?' Sakuragi growled, purposely intimidating her. Akane was not put off. She climbed up on a nearby chair and bellowed into Sakuragi's ear, 'BAKA NINJIN ATAMA!'

            Akane's voice echoed through the building. Everyone was stunned. Someone other than Rukawa had publicly called Sakuragi names. And even Rukawa did not insult him this loudly, or in front of the half the student body of Shohoku High.

            Sakuragi looked around to find everyone staring at them with utmost interest. 'What are you looking at? There is nothing to see!' he shouted at them. He then turned to face his provoker, in the throes of his fury. 'I oughta…' he raised his fist threateningly.

            Shocked to think that he is actually going to hit her, Akane did the only thing that came into her mind that instant.

            She raised her fist and with lighting speed, rammed it into his eye.

-----------{@

Disclaimer: OK…Slam Dunk don't belong to me…

Hey Minna,

            You must be thinking – OMG, she actually hit him.

            If you think no female can give Sakuragi a black eye, you're mightily wrong. My Akane can…*Parades around and throws confetti into the air* He deserves it, ne? Always walking around, dubbing his seniors with such disrespectful nicknames. (GWriter's best friend: Then I believe someone should give you a black eye as well, since you do exactly the same thing!) I – arr…NEVERMIND!

            Ok, I've read all my reviews carefully…and I'm going to answer every one of your questions, since you guys probably are mad at me for making this chapter damn short, ne?

**Doujin: Well, I won't say Mitsui is exactly the ever loving, kind and caring and handsome good guy. After all, he is an ex-gangster, and sometimes, old habits die hard.**

**Lor: Gomen, I know I have a lot of typing mistakes in the first few chapters. That is because I was so eager to post it up and see how your reactions are.**

**Firenze: Sorry about the grammatical errors and mistakes in expression. After all, I'm quite young and I can only rely on my trusty computer to do my checking. If you want to know my age, you'll have to mail me! Coz, there is no way I'm going to announce my age in public.**

**Ju-chan: According to my calculations, Mitsui should be in third year. From where the anime left off, it was only mentioned that Akagi and Kogure quit the team because they need to study for the university exams, but Mitsui wants to stay one and play as long as he can to make up for all his lost time. And in one of the earlier episodes, somewhere before the Ryonan+Shoyo against Shohoku practice game, Fujima Kenji told Hikoichi that Hanagata and he will continue to coach and play for Shoyo despite their coming exams. And Hikoichi had remarked with disappointment that they were so enthusiastic whereas Uozumi had quit the team after they failed to beat Shohoku. And the Original Rukawa Shinetai was never properly introduced. Anyway, by the game against Kainan, Rukawa's popularity had gone so high that a lot of girls appeared in the same uniform, cheering for him. So I guess someone actually tool the trouble to get things organized. But Rukawa is worth it! Ok, my apologies, I just realized my error. Sakuragi and Rukawa are in Year 1 but got thrown into the same class along with Yohei and Haruko, Ok? I'll make the necessary changes soon. Gomen. Otherwise, all is in order.**

**Illuminate: Actually, Akane is as flawed as anyone can possibly be. It's just that the fic hasn't really gone into the main storyline yet, so all I can say is that her flaws aren't all that evident yet. For example in this chapter, she let her fury blind her and publicly called Sakuragi 'baka ninjin atama'. It really shows how brash her temper really is. And when Sakuragi raised his arm, she acted upon her instinct without weighing the consequences and sent her fist flying into Sakuragi's face. I mean, would you want a girl like that to be your girlfriend, if you were a guy?**

            I'm glad everyone enjoys the story about a flawed character. It was not so difficult for me to write because I'm very flawed, very hot tempered and I often do things without thinking as well. I guess many of us are like that, right? I mean, it's just a matter of personality. Oh, even though Akane might have the temper of a she-devil, a tongue as sharp as a new razor and a neck as stubborn as diamonds, she has many good traits as well. You'll learn of them as the story progresses. If you have anymore questions, either review them or mail me, kay?

            So I'm gonna disappear now. *grinz* I think this is a perfect place to end, is it not? *looks around innocently* I'm sure you'll all agree with me….

Haunts of Love,

GHOSTWRITER…

P/S: I know, you're all wondering what baka ninjin atama means right? It means… Mail me, and I'll tell ya!

P/S/S: And yes, the comment from my best friend? Yeah, she actually said that. I did call my seniors nicknames but not in their faces. 


	5. Part 5

**Pride and Prejudice – Part 5**

**By: Ghostwriter**

**----------{@**

            _Akane__ must be really strong, Mitsui observed with hilarity, as Sakuragi recoiled back from the impact of her fist._

            'Ite!' Sakuragi cried in pain, one hand covering his left eye and the other on his back. Rukawa stepped forward and supported him, 'Watch your back, do'aho.'

            'Baka Kitsune,' Sakuragi grumbled. 'What do you care?'

            Rukawa shrugged with indifference. 'You better go to Nurse Takahashi again. You need some salve to reduce the swell of the bruised eye,' Kogure advised.

            'NANI? She gave Tensai a black eye?'

            'Yes, she did. Rukawa, kindly escort Sakuragi to the sick room,' Akagi ordered briskly. Even though he was no longer the captain, they still regarded him with awe and respect. Rukawa nodded silently at the command and guided Sakuragi by the elbow towards the swinging doors. Sakuragi began to struggle valiantly.

            Akagi finally lost every ounce of patience he had in his mighty being. He had promised himself that he will not lose his temper on the first day of school. He will not lose his temper over those four bakas, especially over the red headed one. He will sit back and let Miyagi handle them. Maybe he will have enough time to finish his book if he did that. He is no longer captain anymore. But then, oh, how they try him.

            'URUSAI!' Akagi thundered at the duo who was struggling, Sakuragi trying to escape from Rukawa's touch and Rukawa trying to literally drag him out of the cafeteria. Two heavy fists landed strategically on their heads, effectively silencing them. Akagi removed them and two lumps formed instantly. 'Go,' he ordered through gritted teeth, pointing at the door, 'before I give you two more of what you deserve.'

            Subdued, Rukawa and Sakuragi obediently left them. The instant they stepped out of the cafeteria doors, sounds of scuffling were heard from the hallway.

            'They are going to need lots of salve by the time they actually get to the sick room,' Miyagi commented.

            Through out all this, Akane, who was still standing on the stool, seemed to be forgotten. She jumped down and landed heavily on her two feet. 'That takes care of the baka ninjin atama.'

            'You shouldn't have hit him,' Mitsui informed her wryly. 'He wasn't going to hit you.'

            'He raised his fist and was about to swing it right at my face,' Akane protested.

            'Sakuragi's misguided sense of gallantry that depicts how he should treat females with care because they are so fragile would not have allowed him to harm you physically,' Mitsui said blandly. 'Although, I won't say you're hundred percent female,' he added under his breath. No girls would climb chairs and shout into other peoples' ears.

            'Bah, you're just defending him because he's your friend!'

            'I'm defending him because I know him and you don't,' Mitsui said pointedly. 'Sakuragi would not have harmed you. Anyway, that's beside the point, violence won't solve anything.'

            'That sounds mighty fine, coming from the mouth of an ex-gangster,' Akane retorted, folding her arms across her chest. 

            'Care to repeat that?' Mitsui narrowed his eyes dangerously.

            'Silence!' Akagi roared. The stopped bickering but glared at each other angrily.

            'That does it. I am not standing around here and let you all boss me around,' Akane cried in frustration. 'You,' she jabbed a finger viciously at Mitsui's chest, 'are coming with me to Anami-sensai and demand that he change our pairings.'

            'My pleasure,' Mitsui said angrily as they glared even harder at each other. Akane stuck her tongue out at him and turned on her heel and stomped right out, with Mitsui right at his heels.

            'I take it that was Mitsui's randomly picked partner,' Miyagi remarked. He then noticed Yumiko, standing there shyly. 'Perhaps you'll care to explain why they are at each other's throats?'

            'I don't know. Kane-chan and Mitsui-kun were getting along fine until Kane-chan got into that little spat with the red head and later with Mitsui-kun himself,' Yumiko told them. She felt intimidated by all these tall people whereas Akane had not even batted an eyelash but stood on a stool and publicly insulted one of them.

            'You call that a little spat?' Yasuda asked incredulously. 'She screamed names at Sakuragi-kun for the world to hear.'

            'Well, I've seen Kane-chan in worst rages before.'

            'Kami-sama, help Mitchy,' Miyagi said as he chortled with laughter. 'He has to spend a year with that hellcat.'

            'Kane-chan is not a hellcat,' Yumiko defended her best friend.

            'I can't think of another word to describe her,' Miyagi said. 'Perhaps you'll enlighten me, little one?'

            'Kane-chan is a nice person and she is not a hellcat! And I am not little one, I'm your senpai!' she blazed at them, pointing to her collar where there was a pin, stating her year. Normally she was gentle and soft spoken, but she would allow no one to insult her best friend. She stood with her legs apart and thrust her small face at Miyagi angrily, daring him to contradict her. 

            'Hai senpai!' Miyagi automatically saluted.

            Yumiko stood back, satisfied and walked off. Akane had always told her to get some spunk and stand up for herself and not let anyone push her around. People, she had said, take advantage of you when they think of you as weak. She would have been proud of her friend if she could have seen her.

            'Serves you right,' Ayako said severely.

            'Aya-chan, don't you love me anymore?' Miyagi asked with big puppy dog eyes.

            Everyone sweat dropped.

----------{@

            Akane and Mitsui sat at Anami-sensai's office. Not so much as a word had been exchanged between them from the time they stalked off from the cafeteria till the stepped into the sensai's office.

            _Who does he think he is? Akane thought furiously, __to think he can patronize me?_

            _I will not spend the last of precious time in high school in the company of that…Mitsui's search for a word to describe Akane was interrupted by the sound of someone throwing the door open, slipping inside and slamming it shut. They both turned to see Anami-sensai leaning against the door, sweating and panting._

            Anami-sensai groaned. He damned this project. He damned the person who thought of this idiotic way of pairing couples. But most of all, he damned the day he decided to transfer to Shohoku High three months ago.

            He walked wearily to his desk and sat down on the high backed chair. 'What is it?'

            'We want to change,' Mitsui informed the older man coldly.

            'I cannot abide this – man,' Akane carried on from where Mitsui left off. 'And neither can he abide me.'

            Mitsui nodded in complete agreement.

            'And this is probably the only thing we will agree on,' Akane continued, praying that their sensai will relent. 'Please sensai, do us this favor.'

            'I cannot,' he began trying to explain the situation. 'If I switch one of you all, I'll have to switch the entire class.'

            'Please please please…I'll…,' Akane trailed off, trying to think of something to say.

            Anami-sensai leaned back. His entire body was aching from over-exerting himself by running up and down corridors, trying to evade the clusters of students that were trying to get him to change their pairings. He was known for his soft side, and was a favorite among students. They were so sure he will help them.

            He had hoped to seek the solace of quietude in his office. And when he walked in, he found another pair of students, doubtlessly trying to put in the same request. But this pair actually had the gall to walk into a teacher's office without permission.

            'What are you going to do if I refuse?' he asked them, arching an eyebrow enquiringly.

            'We'll make your class a living hell,' Mitsui put in. He saw that begging wasn't going to get them anywhere and he thought a bit of threat might. 'Believe me, between this shrew here,' he pointed at a glowering Akane, proud that he had found the perfect word to describe her, 'we can move heaven and earth and give you chaos in between.'

            If there was one thing Anami Kojiro hated, it was being threatened. 

            'Silence, you will remain partners till the project ends or abolished,' he roared at them. Both the students pushed their chair back. No one had ever seen Anami-sensai this angry before.

            'But,' Akane began but was silenced.

            'No buts!' Anami-sensai shouted, slamming his fist onto his table. 'As punishment for entering my office without permission, you will hand in weekly reports on you behavior and work individually and write a paper and present it to the class at the end of the year. You're dismissed!'

            Unknown to them, one dozen or so students and teachers had gathered outside Anami-sensai's door the minute the teacher raised his voice. They quickly dispersed as two angry teenagers, scowling heavily stomped out.

            It soon spread like wildfire of how Anami-sensai dealt with the two students and everyone ceased their moaning and pleading immediately. No one wished to write weekly reports as well as present a paper to the entire class at the end of the year.

------------{@

            'Who does he think he is, yelling at us like that?' Mitsui said angrily to no one in particular.

            'Yeah!' Akane answered heatedly.

            'And giving us so much extra work.'

            'Yeah!'

            'Weekly reports!'

            Yeah!'

            'And a presentation at the end of the year to top it all off!'

            'Why are you suddenly agreeing with everything I say now?' Mitsui turned and shouted at Akane, venting his frustration on her. 'I thought you had taken it to be your duty to ruin my last year!'

            'Yea – I do not agreeing with everything you say!' Akane screeched at him. Actually, she had been too furious to actually listen to what he was saying.

            'Yes you were!'

            'Were not!' Akane took a step closer to the tall man.

            'You were!' Mitsui took a step forward too.

            'Not!' Akane thrust her face up at Mitsui, trying to make up for the lack of height. She wishes so desperately that there was a stool nearby where she could use.

            'Yes!' Mitsui thrust his face down, diminishing the gap.

            'No!' Not to be outdone, Akane stood on her tiptoes.

            'No!' Their faces inch closer.

            'Yes!' Akane shouted without thinking.

            'Gottcha!' Mitsui cried triumphantly, unwittingly closing the inches of air between their faces.

            And their lips met.

----------{@

Disclaimer: Bwahaha…the characters that you've never heard off belongs to me, and the characters that you have heard of belongs is Takehiko-san as well as all those big companies. However, this whole demented storyline belongs to me and me only!

Hey minna!

            I can't stop laughing at how lame I can get. What a waste of a first kiss. I mean, do you realize how childish that scene was? And unfortunately, it happens most of the time. (In animes anyway)

            So, I guess Mitsui and Akane are stuck together for good. Frankly, I'm starting to get very surprised at the way the plot is turning out to be. Lol, I guess you can't really tell when you're dealing with this demented ghost, ne?

            Thanks for all those mails and reviews and please keep them coming. Ooh…you know what, I love to make these cliffies…They are so – exciting. *Wicked gleam in the eye* Maybe I won't post for another few weeks, just to build up the suspense. *Twiddles thumbs* unless of course, some people are willing to write long reviews. *whistles and looks downright innocent.* 

**Answer to reviews:**

**Doujin: No, I don't think you missed anything. Frankly, Akane got really mad at Sakuragi because Sakuragi was witless enough to call her 'Godzilla'. Even though Akane portrays a strong character, no girl likes to be called such names right? And she later got angry at Mitsui because Mitsui pointed out that it's her fault and she shouldn't have been so reckless and hit Sakuragi anyway. Boil down to one thing only, her pride got hurt, so she hit him and because of that also, she refuse to accept her mistake because Mitsui put it so crudely. As saying ghost, the truth isn't always pretty.**

**Mit-michan: Well, at least I don't say them right in their faces. Anyway, I call them by their nicks as some sign of affection.**

**Nova: No, this is not a Yaoi fic. But the RuHana one will be coming out soon, or so I hope.**

**Anata: How in the world am I able to contact you if you did not leave you e-mail or anything?**

Japanese Words

Nani = WHAT?!

Urusai = Shut Up!

Love,

Ghostwriter…

P.S. Please take note, from this part onwards, True Beauty will be officially known as **Pride and Prejudice. I find this name more suitable considering where the story is heading now…Thank you!**


	6. Part 6

**Pride and Prejudice – Part 6**

**By: Ghostwriter**

**----------{@**

            The instant their lips met, Akane felt a jolt of electricity course through her. It ran round her being, down every nerve and left her skin tingling.

            Mitsui having felt almost the same thing, immediately jumped away, breaking the contact. He wiped his lips with the back of his hand, a gesture of disgust. Actually, confusion was a better word to suit his mood right then. He had of course, kissed girls on the lips before, and even bedded some of them when he was still a hoodlum.

            But none of them could match up to what he just felt. He shuddered to think what would have happened if they had kept on going.

            Akane, having pretty much recovered much from the shock of locking lips with her at-the-moment-arch nemesis, took out a packet of tissue and roughly wiped her lips. She took one step forward and Mitsui automatically took one step back. She sighed with impatience and jabbed her forefinger into the muscled chest. 

            'As far as we are concern,' she jabbed forcefully as if trying to drill the idea into his memory. 'Whatever that had happened two minutes ago, never did happen. We are to go about as usual,' she paused, mentally phrasing what she was about to say, 'squabbling our heads off and no one is ever to mention what had happened two minutes ago.'

            'Of course,' Mitsui drawled lazily. 'My reputation would be ruined if anyone found out that I laid my lips of _you.'_

            Realizing that she had just been snubbed, Akane turned on her most ferocious gaze at him.

            'Don't you know it's rude to stare?' Mitsui said without changing his tone of voice.

            Akane glared at him one last time before pivoting and stalking down the corridor, away from him. The instant she was out of sight, Mitsui released a breath that he seemed to be holding. He cannot understand he unfounded attraction for such an ugly duckling. He could not deny the sexual tension when she had touched him.

            _At least I got the last word this time, he thought jubilantly._

----------{@

            Akane stalked off in what she believed is a calm and sedate manner. But the only thing she felt like doing was to run away as fast as she could. She turned into an unfamiliar part of the building and slip into one of the rooms, wishing for a place to sit and think.

            She flipped the switched and the room came to life as light flooded out from the fluorescent lamps. She focused on the huge thing standing in the middle of the room and emitted a squeal of delight. Just what she needs when she is in one of these foul moods of hers.

            There was a magnificent baby grand piano sitting upon a dais, beckoning to her.

            Akane rushed up the steps and slid in the gap between the cushioned stool and the instrument. She sat down silently and raised the lid. Touching the keys lovingly, she began to hum as her fingers danced upon the keyboard.

            While her fingers flew expertly up and down the black and white keys, she was seething with rage. _Stupid, incompetent, dumb-ass nincompoop, she mentally hurled the words at the image of Mitsui looking at her sarcastically saying, __'My reputation would be ruined if anyone found out that I laid my lips on you.'_

            She was angry. He had the guts to plant his disgusting lips on her and later daunt her about the matter. It had been her first kiss, ok; maybe it was only a near kiss. She had seen other people try to suck their kissing partner's faces out. Suddenly, the images of him kissing her passionately pop into her mind.

            Akane nearly died of blushing that moment. She hit the keys even harder to vent her anger and frustrations. 'I will not think of him. I will not have feelings for him.' He is a rude and insensitive jerk and nothing more and nothing less to her.

            _But a very cute and handsome jerk. Not to mention, the masculine sexuality etched into every line in his body, a voice whispered into Akane's head._

            Silence! Akane mentally roared at it. It immediately vanished.

            The piece she plated continued to grow louder and stronger as she broke into her climax.

            _You're attracted to him. The voice was back. __Do not deny it._

            _I am not attracted to that a'hou! She retorted._

            She got so mad, she hit the last chord with more force than she expected. The sound vibrated and echoed around the room as Akane tried to think clearly. She finally came to recall a few things that had happened in the past two hours.

            One, she had made total fool of herself in front of the entire cafeteria. 

Two, she had given a black eye to a guy that is over six feet tall and has the body of Apollo.

            Three, she had been handed out extra assignments for the entire year.

            Four, she had a near kiss with a guy that is the most insolent man she ever had the misfortune to meet.

            Five, he had _daunted her about it._

            Six, she had lost total control of herself when it comes to matters concerning him.

            And all because he had the nerve to pull her name out of that box.

            Akane groaned as she out her face in her hands and leaned on the keys, creating an ugly sound. Suddenly, a melody drifted into her hazy mind and she began to hum. To tune was a marching type of song, uplifting and joyous, filled with spirit.

            Akane continued to hum as she pressed the keys and began to play. Her trained fingers hit each note correctly. The song sounded pretty nice. But ironically, it did not entirely suit her mood. She was feeling depressed and angry at herself and that baka but she was playing a song that sounded more like a victory march.

----------{@

            'Does anyone know where is Katsura-kun?' Anami-sensai asked the class. The young woman that was in his office thirty minutes ago failed to show up in class. He hoped nothing unfortunate has happened to her.

            'Sensai, may I go and find her?' Yumiko asked timidly, standing up.

            'No,' Anami-sensai said abruptly. 'You,' he pointed at Mitsui, who was sitting alone, 'go and find her.'

            'Why should I?' Mitsui folded his arms across his chest as a plain sign of defiance. 

            'You will go,' Anami sensai said. 'She is your partner. Or I'll give you both detentions for a week.'

            Mitsui looked at Anami-sensai and realized he meant his threat. If he did get detention for a week, he won't be able to attend practice for a week. And they were preparing for the Winter Tournament. Grumpily, he removed his butt from the chair and walked out of the room without a word.

            The occupants of the room released a sigh of relief in unison.

            Mitsui trudge down the hall and turned into a corridor where he had quarreled most childishly with Akane. The memory of looking into her stunned sea green eyes came back to haunt him. He shook his head, trying to shake the memory away.

            He continued down the corridor, and the faint strands of melody caught his attention. His curiosity piqued, he took a left turn and walked down. The music sounded stronger. Finally, he stood in front of a door to a room, where the music seemed to be coming from.

            Curious, he opened the door and gaped at the sight of Akane at the piano, her fingers flying up and down the keys. The tempo was fast, but Akane played on without missing a beat. Mitsui had enough music background to know that the piece she was playing is very complicated.

            But it was Akane herself that made him hold his breath. She was totally absorbed in the music she was creating. She was no longer the girl that had furiously slammed her fish into Sakuragi's face, or continuously poke Mitsui's chest. A smile played on her lips and her eyes were closed. Her body was swaying to the beat of the song. She looked so calm, serene – happy.

            She finished the piece with a flourish. She turned at the sound of clapping and to her surprise; Mitsui was leaning against the doorframe, clapping his hands.

            'Bravo,' he said as he clapped his hands. 'Perhaps if you have finished, you might want to go back to class before Anami-sensai decides to send a search party after you.'

            Checking her watch, she was stunned to find that it had been twenty minutes since afternoon classes started. Standing up, she walked briskly down the steps, and pass Mitsui. But not before giving him a scathing look.

_She is so weird, Mitsui thought, shaking his head. He looked up skywards, __why are you doing this to me?_

-----------{@

            At the end of the week, Anami-sensai entered the office with two reports on top of the stack of exercise book. He sat down, and took in a deep breathe, preparing himself. Slowly, he picked up the one on top. The front page had been professionally typewritten, with the Akane's name, class, subject neatly typewritten. 

            Anami-sensai flipped the page, expecting to see a nicely written report, commenting on the project. Instead, the report only contained three words that made the vein in Anami-sensai's forehead throb.

            I **HATE HIM.**

            Anami-sensai sighed and picked up Mitsui's paper. He glanced down at the paper and could not help being annoyed at the pair of stubborn students.

            Scrawled boldly on the piece of paper were also three words only.

            SHE'S A **MONSTER.**

            Anami-sensai made a mental note to inform them that they will have to work on their reports together the following weeks. Maybe that'll get them to attempt to like each other. After all, you can't write bad things about the other if their right beside you and reading whatever you're writing right?

            The following week, they had grudgingly handed in their report together. Anami-sensai smiled as the pair walked off in opposite directions, but his face fell when he read their report. It read:

            WE **HATE EACH OTHER.**

_Well, at least they have written one word more than the next time. Maybe they'll write longer next week, Anami-sensai thought. __Yes, there's still hope._

            The next report read:

            WE **STILL HATE EACH OTHER.**

            By then, Anami-sensai seriously doubted the effectiveness of this whole project.

----------{@

            Akane walked into the library, and headed to the fiction aisle. She ran her finger across the titles displayed and settled for one of them_. Life had been good, so far, she thought wryly as she removed the book from the shelf._

            The two of them, (Mitsui and Akane) could not stay in the same room within twenty paces of each other without erupting into a full fledge squabble in front of everyone. Her blood boiled when she remembered the little their little tiff earlier on.

**********FLASHBACK**********

            'Can't you be more like a girl and less of an obake?' Mitsui asked her angrily. They just had another spat. This time, it was in front of the entire basketball team. Mitsui had skipped the day's lessons to play in the Winter Tournament. The teachers have instructed to her to remind Mitsui to finish his homework and returned his exercise books to him.

            Akane had grudgingly trudged her way to the gym after school, knowing that the basketball team was having another extra practice. She had scribbled the assignments in the most illegible scrawl she had ever written on a post-it note and stuck it on one of his exercise books, not intending to speak a single word to him. She hoped that he won't be able to read and would have to make a whole round of phone calls just to decipher what she had just written. (Ghostwriter: Actually, I think she wants him to call her, but of course, Akane would rather die than admit that right?) But then of course, a guy never has any trouble reading a girl's writing even if she had purposely written it in her worst handwriting, simply because their best is far worse.

            And of course, like it has been mentioned before, they can't stay within twenty paces of each other without breaking into a fight.   

            'If I am an obake, you're a jaaku!' Akane yelled, equally as angry.

            'Obake!'

            'Jaaku!'

            'Obake!'

            'Jaaku!'

            'Don't you think they are quarrelling like husband and wife?' Hanamichi asked loudly.

            Two heads turn in his direction. 'Shut up!' Akane and Mitsui yelled at the red head before turning their attentions back at their name calling. (Ghostwriter: Tsk tsk, how childish.)

            'Do'aho.'

            'Teme Kitsune!'

            The rest of the basketball team could only look on in bewilderment as the four people, each with their own partner continued with their name-calling marathon while sweatdropping profusely.

            It all ended when Mitsui turned his back and folded his arms across his chest stubbornly as Akane turned and stomped out of the gym with her heavy footsteps echoing the large building. She closed the door with a loud satisfying bang. Rukawa and Sakuragi were silenced by Ayako's paper fan.

            Ayako winced. She was glad Akane seldom come into the gym. If she came often, and slam the door like that every time because she was angry at Mitsui, they would have to replace the door very soon.

**********END OF FLASHBACK**********

            'Jaaku,' Akane muttered, unable to get him and their earlier argument out of her mind. Oh, how she had enjoyed yelling at him with all her heart. How cute he looked when his face was pink with suppressed anger and his eyes looked as though they were going to pop out their sockets any minute.

            _Cute?__ No, Mitsui Hisashi is not cute, Akane insisted firmly to herself._

            The vision of Mitsui with his messed up hair, tinged with blue, looking as though he was ready to throttle her dead, swam into her mind.

            Akane burst into uncontrollable giggles, and was rewarded with an angry glares and hisses from the other users of the library. The librarian gave her a disapproving look but relented when Akane mouth a sorry to her.

            Funny thing is they never remembered what they had been fighting about. It seems to so many people, that they just fight for the sake of getting the last word in, and basically, getting on each other's nerves.

            'Gomen ne, Kane-chan, for being late,' Yumiko apologized as she sat opposite her.

            'Never mind,' Akane replied cheerfully. She found it near impossible to get angry at her friend. They opened their books and Akane took out her pen and started scribbling answers on her worksheets. Soon, her part of the table was littered with correction tape, pens and highlighters of assorted colors as well as eraser dust as drew and redrew her graphs.

            'Kane-chan,' Yumiko said softly.

            'Yeah?' Akane said absent-mindedly as she erased the pencil marks on the paper. 'Done.'

            'Will you accompany me to the basketball game on Wednesday?' Yumiko asked timidly. She knew how her friend felt towards basketball players.

            'I beg your pardon?' Akane asked, narrowing her eyes. 'You know I don't exactly like basketball.'

            'I know,' Yumiko said pleadingly, 'but Fukuzawa-san asked me to go, but I'm too shy to go alone with him. Onegai?' She gave her best friend her best imitation of puppy dog eyes.

            'No,' Akane declared stubbornly.

            'Onegai?' Yumiko whined. She only uses that tone of voice with Akane, knowing it would assure her victory.

            'Fine,' Akane admitted defeat. She was defenseless when Yumiko turned on her If-you-don't-do-this-I'll-sulk-for-ever tone. 'Once only, never again.'

            'Arigatou!' 

----------{@

Disclaimers: My storyline, mainly Takehiko's characters, added with a few of my outlandish characters to create this twisted fic. So I can't take all the credit can I? But if you want to archive it or anything, please mail me.

_"The two most engaging powers of an author are to make new things familiar and familiar things new – William Makepeace Thackeray"_

Japanese phrases:

Baka: fool/Idiot/Stupid…varies according to situations…

Obake: Monster

Jaaku: Jerk

Onegai: Please.

Hey minna!

            Is everyone reading my fic or am I losing you? Please review and mail me…I beg you! Oh, I'll be very happy if I get to debate my story and characters' personality with other writers/readers. Only then will I improve, right?

            Thanks to all those who did review.

            To those who did not, I'm still waiting here.

Agape,

Ghostwriter…

P/S: Is this chapter long enough? Longer than what I usually write.


	7. Part 7

Pride and Prejudice – Part 7  
  
By: Ghostwriter  
  
----------{@  
  
'You owe me big time,' Akane muttered, as she followed Yumiko to where Kyoichi was waving. Spectators were gradually filling in the stadium, hoping to get good seats to what promised to be one of the most exciting matches of the season. After all, had Shohoku and Ryonan not put up an impressive fight during the Kanagawa trials?  
  
Yumiko chose not reply, and instead, continued to pull Akane along. Fukuzawa must really be a big fan of basketball, coming so early to get good seats, Akane mused. Kyoichi was still waved energetically until they had reached him. Yumiko took the seat beside him shyly, while Akane sat down beside Yumiko. They sat in relative silence – Kyoichi and Yumiko too shy too speak while Akane was just plain bored. She had seen dozens of these games.  
  
Suddenly the doors leading to the bleachers were flung open and rows of cheerleaders, clad in identical skimpy uniforms filed in holding their pompoms by their sides. Each of them stood two feet from their comrades in front of the banister. Chieko stood partly in front off Akane, shooting her a superior look. Akane wisely ignored her.  
  
'Are these Shohoku's supporters or Ryonan's supporters?' someone whispered behind Akane.  
  
'Neither. They are Rukawa's supporters,' his friend corrected him in a hushed voice.  
  
From afar, Akane could already make out the smug expression on Chieko's face, heading towards her.  
  
The cheerleaders stood still, waiting for the game to start. The sound of heavy footsteps caught everyone's attention and they turned to see dozens of the most ferocious faces in Kanagawa, some with tattoos on every inch of their bare skin, plant themselves into the empty places at the last empty rows in the gym. Everyone regarded them with mild curiosity.  
  
'And who are they?' The same voice asked in bafflement. His friend offered no response, citing that it was beyond his knowledge.  
  
The buzzer sounded and the two teams streamed into the stadium. The absence of Uozumi was greatly noticed. There was a whole new starting line, consisting of Sendoh Akira, Koshino Hiroaki, Fukuda Kicchou, Uekesa Toriyuki and Morishita Shun, a sophomore. The starting line of Shohoku consisted of Miyagi Ryota, wearing the number four on his jersey proudly, Mitsui Hisashi, sporting the number five, Rukawa Kaede, retaining his number 11, Sakuragi Hanamichi, the number 10 and – Mito Yohei, with the number 15 clearly emblazoned on his jersey.  
  
Sakuragi quickly gained the ball for Shohoku. The injury on his back seemingly gave him no trouble at all. The ball went cleanly to Miyagi who immediately rushed to their basket. He passed the ball to Rukawa, who was closely guarded by Sendoh. Unable to break in, he passed it Yohei who was being guarded by Morishita Jun. The loss of Ikegami and Uozumi could be clearly seen by now. Koshino was having trouble guarding Mitsui, while Uekesa was no match in both speed and skill for Miyagi. Sakuragi had performed yet another miracle as he matched Fukuda skill for skill.  
  
Shohoku scored an easy point.  
  
The game progressed. Mitsui gained possession of the ball. Taking one step back, he aimed and let the ball go. Time seemed to have suspended as the ball made a graceful arc, falling through the hoop with a satisfying swish.  
  
The stadium erupted into cheers. The men in leather jackets with tattoos all over their body roared their approval.  
  
'Well, I guess those men are in favor of Mitsui,' the same voice told his friend. 'Wow – Shohoku is so popular,' his friend replied in awe.  
  
Rukawa made a shot and all his fans launched themselves into hysterics. Only Sendoh managed to overpower Sakuragi, and Fukuda occasionally got shots in at long range. Not many people could match Sakuragi under the basket by now. Even if Akagi and Uozumi had still been playing, they would have had trouble keeping up with the red head. He seemed to have a limitless source of energy and his iron body seemed to have fully recuperated from his earlier injury.  
  
Of course, each time Shohoku scored a basket, Akane join in the cheers. However, her attentions seem to be trailing after the scared-face player.  
  
His three pointers are damn accurate, Akane thought, admiring his skill. He looks pretty cute when he smiles like that too, she added happily as Mitsui raised a victorious fist into the air, for the point he just scored. Wait a minute; I'm not going to think of that jerk. He is not worth my time… 'Argh!' Akane groaned in frustration.  
  
(Ghostwriter: I can't do much descriptive work here, not knowing how to play basketball.)  
  
The match could only get more exciting. The score was 52 – 75, in favor of Shohoku. Half the shots in Ryonan's favor were made by Sendoh.  
  
'Shohoku seems to be roaring with spirit,' Akane observed.  
  
'You can bet your life on that,' Kyoichi answered enthusiastically. 'Ryonan lost a great deal of power when Uozumi retired from the team. No one except for Akagi could match him under the basket.'  
  
In the last forty minutes, each time Rukawa scored, his fan girls cheered exuberantly for him, waving their pom-poms, wiggling their hips and doing high kicks. Slowly, Chieko's figure moved to the right, blocking Akane's view.  
  
'Can you, like move away?' Akane growled, shifting, trying to get a better view.  
  
Chieko smiled slyly and moved to block Akane's line of vision. This infuriated Akane who tried even harder but without success. It was an exciting point in the game, with less than 20 seconds on the clock, with the ball in Shohoku's possession. It was a sure win for Shohoku, but everyone wanted to see whether Shohoku could score another basket with so little time.  
  
The stadium tensed when Akane lost her temper yet again.  
  
'Can you like move your butt out of my face?' she shouted at Chieko, after Chieko had ignored her earlier efforts on being polite. Her voice could be heard throughout the stadium. Chieko gasped in shock as everyone in the stadium turned towards them.  
  
Uekesa got distracted by the sudden uproar by the bleachers, and that gave Miyagi an opening to steal the ball. He passed the ball to Mitsui who caught it and aimed it towards the basket. Koshino and Sendoh rushed up to stop him. It was a fake. Mitsui swiftly passed the ball to Rukawa who was open, and Rukawa then performed a beautiful slam dunk.  
  
The stadium went into uproar just as the buzzer sounded. Duty called for Chieko as she turned away from Akane and did her routine cheer for Rukawa.  
  
Akane was still fuming over her little outburst. But as she stole a glance at the court below, her lips curled themselves into a slight smile as she watched the Shohoku team clap each other on their backs and Mitsui smile proudly. She quietly slipped away and walked passed the doors without looking back.  
  
----------{@  
  
Sakuragi was thumping Mitsui's back enthusiastically as Mitsui's gaze traveled back and forth across the bleachers. He could have sworn he had heard Akane's voice. He caught sight of a fading figure and thought it was her.  
  
'Of course it's her, who else can it be?' Mitsui muttered as the figure disappeared from sight. 'No one else has that voice of a foghorn.'  
  
'Looking for someone, Mitsui-senpai?' Ayako asked, with a disturbing smile playing across her lips. 'We should really thank Katsura-senpai, ne? If it weren't for her little outburst, we wouldn't have scored the last point that easily.  
  
So it really was her, Mitsui thought, a slight tingling in his spine. He wondered what she was doing at a basketball match for she had made her feelings exceptionally clear where basketball players were concerned.  
  
**********FLASHBACK**********  
  
'What is it with you and basketball that you seem to hold a grudge at me and all my friends?' Mitsui yelled angrily at her after she insulted basketball and Anzai-sensai for the umpteenth time.  
  
'None of you business,' Akane replied swiftly as she turned around and walked away, leaving him standing in the middle of the class room.  
  
**********END OF FLASHBACK**********  
  
'Mitsui-senpai, are you there?' Ayako asked as she waved her hand in front of Mitsui's face. He had a faraway look on his face. She could have sworn he smiled when she told him Katsura-senpai came.  
  
'Yeah?' Mitsui asked, forcing himself not to think of that obane (monster).  
  
'I was saying, we really should thank Katsura-senpai for providing that little distraction, ne?'  
  
Mitsui snorted. 'We should be thankful she didn't push that cheerleader over the railing. Anyway, it didn't matter if we scored the last point of not. We would have won anyway.' He then walked off to his team mates  
  
Stubborn old fool, thought Ayako, smiling knowingly. Mitsui Hisashi and Katsura Akane were obviously made for each other, but both have so much pride that they'd rather die than admit their feelings to each other.  
  
----------{@  
  
Akane walked out of the music shop, stopping only stuff the packet of CDs into her back pack. Her hair was tied back into a ponytail with her long fringe swept behind her ears. She wore a sweater and a long overcoat above it, to protect her from the blistering cold of the wind. She shoved her gloved hands into her pockets as she started to walk towards the ice-cream parlor.  
  
'Katsura-senpai!'  
  
Akane whirled around, as a pretty girl with long curly dark hair jogged up to her.  
  
'Nitta-san?' she enquired.  
  
'Hai!' Ayako confirmed. (Ghostwriter: Let's just pretend that Ayako's surname is Nitta, kayz?)  
  
'Ah, don't you have practice with the basketball team?'  
  
'Yes, but it's been changed to this afternoon because Akagi-senpai wishes to come along and he can't make it in the morning.'  
  
'I see,' after replying, Akane was at a loss for words.  
  
'Where are you heading , Kasura-senpai?' Ayako asked politely.  
  
'Oh, I'm going to the ice-cream parlor round the corner.'  
  
'You're going to eat ice-cream in this weather?' Ayako asked, amazed.  
  
'No,' Akane laughed. 'I was craving for some hot chocolate.  
  
'Hot chocolate,' Ayako squealed. 'Would you mind terribly if I tagged along?'  
  
'Not at all,' Akane said. 'And they have the best chocolate brownies too!'  
  
----------{@  
  
'Don't mind me, I'm a chocolate fiend.' Akane said as she sipped from the large mug of steaming chocolate.  
  
'I'm one too,' Ayako confessed. 'But I worry about adding weight constantly, so I seldom indulge myself.'  
  
'I gave up years ago trying to restrain myself,' Akane said in an off hand manner. 'But it just doesn't work. No matter how little I eat, my weight just stays the same.'  
  
'Have you tried exercising? It burns a lot of excess fat you know. Cycling is a great way to go.' Ayako suggested, spooning a bite of chocolate brownie into her mouth.  
  
'I don't know how to cycle. My parents were very protective of me so they never allowed me, for fear I'll injure myself,' Akane said with a smile. 'After all, I'm quite clumsy.'  
  
'Oh, it's not too late to learn.'  
  
'I don't really have time now. I'm quite torn between my school work and my career. By the way, call me Akane,' Akane told her. 'Yeah, I work as a columnist for TRIO,' she said, naming one of the more popular teen magazines.  
  
'Wow,' Ayako said enviously, 'you get to meet all those artists. And you should call me Ayako if I'm to call you Akane.'  
  
'Sure,' Akane agreed. 'No, I don't do interviews. I write reviews for books and CDs.'  
  
'You're Dagger?' Ayako asked, surprised. Akane nodded, taking a bite of her dessert. 'Yeah, but don't tell anyone, please.'  
  
'Why not?' Ayako asked, curious.  
  
'You see, most of my readers expect me to be pretty as well as smart. I just don't have the heart to shatter their fantasies by letting them know who I really am. Besides, TRIO's sales might drop because the readers are afraid of my ugly face,' Akane joked.  
  
'You're not ugly, Akane-chan.'  
  
Akane chuckled. 'It seems that the jerk is always calling me an obake.'  
  
'Mitsui-senpai doesn't really mean it,' Ayako said seriously. 'He just doesn't know how to express his feelings.'  
  
'Surely he is doing a fine job of telling me how much he dislikes me,' Akane said, sipping her chocolate. The rich warmth coursed down her throat and into her stomach.  
  
'Akane-chan, don't you realize that Mitsui-senpai likes you?' Ayako asked.  
  
'Ayako-chan, you might be thinking I'm an idiot to fall for that. That is the joke of the century. In the past month, he has never even shown that he liked me a single bit.'  
  
'Oh, you're wrong,' Ayako said. 'You're the first girl Mitsui-senpai paid attention to ever since he came back to the team.'  
  
'And how many women did he have before that?' Akane argued. 'Men like him do not stick to one woman for life.'  
  
'You're prejudiced against him, aren't you?' That silenced Akane. 'No, I'm not prejudiced against him.'  
  
'If you're judging him by the rumors you've heard, you're judging a different person,' Ayako continued. 'Mitsui-senpai is a nice guy; he just got sidetracked along the way. And he promised Anzai-sensai not to fight anymore. He is a changed man.'  
  
'That's not the point. He just irritates me so. But then again, when his face gets all red, and his eyes just bulges out, he looks really cute,' Akane admitted. 'So I like irritating him, so what?'  
  
'You like him too!' Ayako gasped, laughing.  
  
'I do not!' Akane protested. 'But tell you what; I'll strike a deal with you. I'll try to be nicer to him but I can't be expected to do a 180 degree change. He'll think I've gone mad or something.'  
  
'Good, I'm sure Mitsui-senpai will understand.' Akane said happily. 'And you'll two will hit it right off and you'll get married…' she stopped and winced. She clutched her abdomen in pain as her face turned white.  
  
'Whoa – Let's not think so far ahead, ne?' Akane protested but stopped when she saw Ayako's pale face.  
  
'Are you alright?' Akane asked worriedly  
  
'I think I've eaten something wrong,' Ayako said weakly.  
  
'Stay still now; do you want me to call your parents?' Akane asked her.  
  
'My parents are in Tokyo this weekend,' Ayako said weakly.  
  
'I'll call someone to help.'  
  
Akane fumbled in her backpack until she found her hand phone. She paused to think who she should call. An ambulance? But won't it be over reacting to call an ambulance in a case of suspected indigestion. Ayako and she just became friends and share almost no mutual friends except for – Akane sighed. She'll just have to call him. She searched for her number in her phone book and pressed dial.  
  
'Moshi moshi,' Mitsui's sleepy voice flooded through the receiver. One could tell that he had still been asleep before being awakened by the phone at 11 in the morning.  
  
'May I speak to Mitsui Hisashi, please?'  
  
'Speaking.'  
  
'This is Katsura Akane.'  
  
'What do you want, obake, calling at such an uncivilized hour?' Mitsui's voice demanded angrily over the line. He had still been resting from yesterday's game.  
  
'It's already 11 in the morning. Most people are up and working,' Akane reminded him.  
  
'It's the weekend!' Mitsui bellowed into the phone.  
  
'Oh, let's not quarrel. It's about Ayako-chan.'  
  
'What is it about Ayako?'  
  
'She's sick and in pain. We need to get her to the hospital.'  
  
'Where are you guys?'  
  
'Choccies Ice Cream Parlor down Juriko Street.'  
  
'Stay there, I'll be right over.' With that, he hung up.  
  
----------{@  
  
Disclaimer: No, Slam Dunk Do Not Belong To Me.  
  
Hey minna!  
  
This chapter is so disappointing, ne? The part in the basketball match is so unbelievable. Gomen, but I needed to show that Mitsui and Akane's changing feelings towards each other. Sigh, forgive me, I need to pave the way for the coming plot…  
  
But still, mail and review me. Inspire me…sigh…and maybe the storyline will slowly improve. Surely you won't give up on me just because of one miserable chapter?  
  
Ghostwriter… 


	8. Part 8

**Pride and Prejudice – Part 8**

**By: Ghostwriter**

**----------{@**

'What did you do to her?' Mitsui hissed at Akane, as he kept his eyes on the road.

'What do you I think I did to her?' Akane retorted. 'Poisoned her or something?'

'I wouldn't put it past you,' Mitsui mumbled.

'Why would I do something that absurd?' Akane asked furiously. 'It's not like I hold a grudge or something.' If I want to poison anyone, you'll be the first, she added quietly to herself.

'I don't know. Maybe because Ayako is so much prettier, curvier and overall so much more like a girl than you? After all, jealousy can make people do absurd things,' Mitsui shot back.

'I am not jealous.'

'Well, you should be. At least that shows you're a human and not a total monster.'

'Will you two please give it a rest?' Ayako whispered weakly. 

Mitsui shot Akane a murderous glance through the rearview mirror. Akane obliged him by sticking out her tongue.

'Akane-chan and I were eating when I suddenly had this weird pain in my abdomen,' Ayako explained. 'That was why Akane-chan called you.'

After Akane's call, Mitsui had rushed into the bathroom, brushed his teeth, showered and had thrown on a clean shirt and jeans. He was not going to let that obake snub him about his appearance again. Or say that he has bad breath or anything for that matter. (Ghost: Mitchy, I didn't know you care what Akane' thinks. Winkz) He then had grabbed his keys and rushed out of his apartment. Afterwards, he raced to the hospital in his car, (Ghost: I assure you, it's a very cool car.), at breakneck speed.

----------{@

Mitsui continued to glare at the girl sitting next to him. They had reached the hospital and Mitsui had swept Ayako into his arms (Ghost: Wait till Miyagi hears about this!) and rushed into the emergency room, ignoring Ayako's feeble protests. There, he laid her on one of those beds and ordered the nurses to take care of her and get one of the doctors to see to her immediately. 

Akane shook her head as she took Ayako's purse to the registration counter to fill in the appropriate forms. Trust men like Mitsui Hisashi to expect the world to be at his feet. It was as if he felt that he wass far more superior to everyone; thus all law and order must be defied to please him. Just like another dumb jock.

The doctor had diagnosed Ayako's pain as appendicitis. And of course, an operation was necessary and had to be done at once. That was why they were presently sitting in straight back chairs facing each other. Akane had settled comfortably in her chair with earphones plugged into her ears while she read a paperback novel, completely ignoring Mitsui's presence. Mitsui on the other hand had fixed her with his angriest glare, as if it could kill her or even harm her in the least. (Ghost: Singsong voice Mitchy wants to look at Akane without people laughing their heads off. So he can't exactly look at her the way Sakuragi looks at Haruko. Mitsui: URUSAI! Ghost automatically shuts up)

'Don't you know it's rude to stare?' Akane asked calmly, turning the page.

Mitsui turned away, refusing to say anything. He lifted his sleeve to look at his watch. It read 1 o' clock. His stomach rumbled, reminding him that he had not eaten a bite since last night.

'You can go and eat if you want,' Akane said quietly, flipping yet another page. 'The operation won't be over until at least two. And the anesthetic may not pass until tonight. It would be best if you went to practice. You all can come and visit her tonight. I'll stay with her 'til then.'

Mitsui eyed her dubiously, wondering why she became so kind-hearted all of a sudden.

'Tell me, since when do you possess such a kind heart?' he asked sarcastically.

'I'm always kind to those who are my friends. Anyway, you really should go. People are beginning to wonder whether it is going to rain soon,' Akane said pointedly, 'with all that rumbling going on. '

Mitsui glared at her again. (Ghost: Mitchy, you really love glaring at her, don't you?) 'Fine,' he said as he stood up stiffly. 'But you'll better take care of her, or else…' He left is sentence hanging, with a threatening note in his voice.

'You'll mince me up? Set the dogs on me?' Akane said as she continued reading. She lifted her eyes to meet his. 'Be my guest.' She lowered her gaze back to the book. 

'If you want to have a fruitful practice, I advise you not to tell them about Nitta-san until you finish practicing, and do get them to take a shower before they come, ne? I don't think the nurses would appreciate half a dozen sweaty and stinky boys crowding into one small room. Nitta-san might faint from the whole team's bad stench.'

Mitsui left without saying another word, but was rather red in the face due to keeping his anger in check. The way she said all those things, in that calm and unaffected way of hers had really gotten under his skin, but he refused to blow up in the hospital. They might decide to give him some tranquilizer shots after hearing all the words he intended to tell that little stuck-up snob plus the fact that Mitsui didn't exactly like hospitals, due to his prolonged stay in his first year in high school. That still didn't stop him though, from wishing that he could throttle her dead.

Akane's lips quirked into a small smile as Mitsui walked down the corridor. Everyone gave way to the six foot tall basketball player who was radiating raw fury. 

_He is just so nice to annoy, Akane thought happily, picking up her book again. (Ghost: Sweatdrop is she nuts?)_

----------{@

Mitsui threw the last bite of the burger into his mouth and slid the car into the empty parking space. Swallowing the last of his meal, he turned the engine off then slurped the rest of his coke noisily and stuffed all the garbage into the paper bag. He had stopped by at McDonalds on the way and grabbed a burger and a coke, just to keep him from fainting from hunger. He stepped out of the car and aimed the piece of junk at the nearest trash bin. He released it and it flew neatly into the open bin.

Not far behind him, he heard the annoying rendition of that tensai song, announcing the arrival of the red head. 

'Eh Mitchy, is that your car?' Sakuragi asked with awe in his voice as he looked at the black BMW. (Ghost: Imagine ten chibi Sakuragis circling all around the car.) 

Mitsui nodded coolly. His family had given him the car as a belated congratulatory gift for winning MVP during the Junior High School tournament. They decided he shouldn't strain his knee by walking so much after the injury. Of course, Mitsui would have preferred a Harley to this but his family was adamant about him driving a bike in that condition. During the first few months, he even had his own personal chauffeur.

After he dropped out from the b-ball team and became a hoodlum, he had kept the car in one of the garages near his apartment's buildings. He had discovered that the car just wasn't suited for his new identity; one as a gangster. He either used the bike he bought without his family's knowledge or he walked.

'Why didn't you drive this little baby to school?' Sakuragi asked, still circling the car.

'Parking problems,' Mitsui replied shortly. It was partly the reason, since he couldn't stand the early morning traffic in Kanagawa Centre. He lived in the other side of Kanagawa, nearer to Shoyo, but he came to Shohoku because of Anzai Sensai. Besides, by the time he would arrive in school in that eye-catching car of his, so many people would be obstructing his way that he'll be hopelessly late for class.

'Now, if you would stop running around the car, we can go to the gym,' Mitsui said as he pulled Sakuragi away from his car. 

'It's smashing!' Sakuragi continued as they stepped into the gym. 'Just what a tensai should have.'

Everyone was already there, lounging around and laughing at private jokes. After all, practice doesn't officially start until the captain and his beautiful manageress says so. Might as well enjoy whatever rest they could get.

Miyagi was talking to Anzai-sensai, his gaze shifting to the entrance every few minutes. He waved Mitsui over.

'Ayako-san isn't coming today,' Mitsui informed them. 'I think we should start practice. We have a game against Kainan five days from now.'

'How do you know that she isn't coming today?' Miyagi asked suspiciously.

'I saw her just now, and she told me she had something important to do,' Mitsui lied carefully. Yeah, like getting an operation, he added mentally. He wasn't completely lying. He did see her just now and her getting an operation was important wasn't it?

Miyagi started to say something but Anzai-sensai cut him off. 'Mitsui-kun is right. We need to start practice. The Shoyo game is crucial to us.' There was a glint in his spectacles. 'Surely you want to win?'

'HAI!' Mitsui and Miyagi shouted. And thus, training began.

For the first time in many months, Shohoku held a training session without their strict and beautiful manageress Nitta Ayako. And it is sufficient to say that without her Paper Fan of Doom, it was utter chaos in the Shohoku basketball gym.

----------{@

**Disclaimer: All Standard Disclaimers Apply.**

Ghost's notes:

Bwahahaha! I've gone mad. Poor Ayako…RyoAya fans, you should not hate me…I'm thinking of using this opportunity to give Miyagi a chance, ya know. I mean, him caring for her…How sweet…heart shaped eyes

Ok, I've concluded that Mitsui should be pretty rich. He stayed in a private room in the hospital during his injury. It obviously shows that his family do have a bit of money, rite?

Oh, why am I doing this? Cackles wickedly you won't want to know! Bwahahaha!

Thank you to those people who reviewed and mail me…I really appreciate it. Please, please, please continue to review me. I'm begging you! Anyway, I tend to post faster with more encouragement.

Oh, btw, I must recommend you guys read Eliar Swiftfire's 'Die NBA Die: An Interview with Mitsui and Rukawa'. Do not be deceived by the title, it's really good.

**Answer to reviews… (Ooh – I just love this part!)**

**Eliar**** Swiftfire: Don't worry; RuHana side story is going to be an entirely different story. That is if I ever get it written. ^^;;  **

**Ruishi: They should have the energy to review me. After all, I was the one that typed a few thousand words for them to read, so why can't they type a few dozen words to encourage me? Pouts**

**Doujin: love-hate relationship? Tension? There is probably no greater tension than the tension between them…lol!**

**Acknowledgements**

Yay, thank you to **Anata**** for editing my fic! I assure you, she does a great job, and it isn't her fault that I post up the fic slowly. I post slowly because I'm angry at you all who did not review me…Hmmph!**

Ghostwriter…

P/S: It's interesting to know that Part 9 is safely in computer hard disk, ne? 

P/S/S: I'm not afraid of long mails. So send them right in!

P/S/S/S: Are you guys afraid of long stories?


	9. Part 9

Pride and Prejudice – Part 9

By: Ghostwriter

----------{@

'Teme Kitsune! How dare you say that about the tensai !'

'Do'aho. I'm only speaking the truth.'

'Teme Kitsune! Urusai!'

There suddenly appeared a cloud of dust with fists and legs flying all around.

'Stop it!' Miyagi cried rushing over to the two troublemakers. 

There had never been training as stressful as this. Without Ayako to uphold order in the gym, most of the members were either slacking off or not taking the training seriously at all. Miyagi and Ryota were already exhausted running around the gym, pestering their team mates to practice.

'Woi, stop fighting. Anzai-sensai might bench you two for fighting again,' Mitsui reminded them, trying to pull them apart. 

(Ghost: Sweatdrops if Anzai-sensai is to bench them for every fight they had, they will not have played at all.

The two paid no heed to the senior but continued to fight. In the exchange of fists, kicks and head butts, a fist flew out of nowhere and socked Mitsui in the jaw.

'That's it!' Mitsui shouted, throwing restrain to the winds. 'I've had it with you two. I'm going to teach you all a lesson you'll never forget.'

'STOP IT!' Miyagi hollered at them. 'Fifty push-ups to the four of you...'

'Shut up, shorty,' an impetuous voice came from the mass of flying arms and legs. 'Without your Aya-chan here, you can't even take care of the team. What sort of captain are you?'

'What did you say?' Without thinking, Miyagi jumped into the fight. 

'Everyone,' Yohei cried, 'Stop fighting! Someone will come!'

'Yohei, since when are you so faint hearted? Come and help me beat this annoying Kitsune into bloody pulp!' 

Suddenly, Yohei found himself in the heat of the battle. He tried to protect himself from injury by ducking, but that wasn't particularly successful due to the jumble of moving limbs. Sighing resignedly, he began to throw a few punches and kicks out himself.

All the other members just watched with major sweat-drops trailing down their foreheads. Haruko was shouting and pleading at them from the side but no one heeded her pleas. Suddenly, all observing members stiffened with foreboding as a familiar figure loomed behind them. They parted like the Red Sea, allowing Akagi and Kogure a good view of the brawl ahead, which consisted of the entire starting team.

The four hot-blooded boys and one rather innocent Yohei received Gori-fists courtesy of Akagi. Yohei, never having experienced the complete force of Akagi's fist fainted dead away. The other four just stood there rubbing their sore heads while Haruko tried to revive Yohei. (Ghost: grins mischievously with a kiss, I suppose.)

'What do you think you're doing?' Akagi demanded in his scariest voice. Veins started to pop up on his forehead.

'He started it!' Mitsui and Miyagi shouted, pointing to the red head and fox-eyed boy while the other two pointed at each other.

'Run twenty laps.'

'Hey, governor, you aren't the captain anymore you know,' Miyagi retorted heatedly.

Akagi fixed the point guard with a steely glare. '– now'

Miyagi automatically shut his mouth. Together, the four of them dutifully jogged in a straight line around the gym. Yohei wisely remained 'dead' after the punishment was met out. 

'All second years practice shooting from the penalty line. First years – pair up and practice passing!' Akagi instructed them. Relative peace was restored as the juniors – who are very much in awe of the gorilla like captain – rushed out to carry his orders.

The four trouble makers weren't that obedient.

'Nyahahaha – Tensai can beat all of you!' Sakuragi boasted as he ran slightly ahead of Miyagi who was in the lead.

'Do'aho,' Rukawa said as he sped up 'til he was beside Sakuragi before slowing down, back into a comfortable pace. Rukawa had endured back breaking training sessions in the All Japan Youth Team – which had improved his stamina tremendously – whereas Sakuragi had rusted a bit due to his long stay in hospital.

'Who do you think are?' Mitsui cried as he too sped up to catch up with the two freshmen.

'Hey, I'm the captain. I'm supposed to lead!' Miyagi said as he jogged ahead. Soon, the four of them were streaking around the gym, trying to best each other. After twenty five laps, Mitsui dropped out and walked wearily over to the bench. Akagi, Kogure and Anzai-sensai looked on in amusement at the remaining competitors.

'You guys are really out of hand when Ayako isn't around. Who knows what might have happened if Akagi and I had not come,' chided Kogure to the shooting guard. Mitsui grinned lazily at them.

'Land them selves in hospital, probably,' Akagi snorted.

The word hospital instantly reminded Mitsui of Ayako's hospitalization. He glanced at the clock hanging above the door. Six o' clock. Ayako should be out of the operating room by now. Anyway, they were going to end practice soon. He might as well tell Akagi first and ask him to break the news to the others.

'Umm – Akagi, there's something about Ayako that I need to tell you about.'

----------{@

'Dismissed!' Miyagi called out. Everyone sighed with relief. There was no slacking after Akagi showed up, and that means another few hours of exhausting practice.

'Ahem,' Akagi cleared his throat. Everyone turned towards the burly ex-captain, expecting a long and boring lecture about team work yada yada.'I believe you all should know that our manageress is…'

'Governor, you make it sound as if Aya-chan is dead,' Miyagi laughed. Akagi glared darkly at him while Mitsui wondered how he was going to react to the news.

'- hospitalized.' Akagi finished.

There was silenced before Miyagi's outburst. 'NANI? What happened to her?'

'I believe she was diagnosed with appendicitis,' Mitsui said.

'You mean you knew all along and you didn't tell me? How did you know? Wait, you said you saw Aya-chan – what were you doing with her?' Miyagi cried angrily as he grabbed the senior by the shirt in order to pull his face down to meet his own.

'Of course I knew. I was the one who was woken up from my beautiful dream to be told that my team manageress was having weird abdominal pains after eating consuming excessive amounts of chocolate and that she needed to be sent to the hospital,' Mitsui retorted sarcastically.

'Aya-chan!!!' Miygai cried as he raced out of the gym, intending to race all the way to his Aya-chan. Mitsui looked at his watch as he tapped his foot expectantly.

A few minutes later, Miyagi pop his head back in. 'Which hospital is Aya-chan in?'

----------{@

Ayako opened her eyes, but shut them quickly at the bright light.

'Oh – good, you're awake,' a familiar voice said.

Ayako looked around the room and saw Akane walking towards her. Akane had insisted on a private room for Ayako after the operation. She had predicted the mayhem that would take place as soon as the Shohoku Basketball team arrived. She had no intention of living with a guilty conscience for the rest of her life because she had allowed some unfortunate patient to die of a heart attack.

Ayako tried to sit up, but Akane stopped her. 

'You should not move that much,' she advised her. 'You just went through an operation.'

'Operation?' Ayako looked questioningly at Akane. She had fainted shortly before being admitted to the operating room.

'Yeah, appendicitis.' Akane told her.

'Gomen ne, for being so much trouble,' Ayako started to apologized, 'and causing you to spend the whole day at the hospital with me.'

Akane laughed. 'I reckon I've spent more time in waiting rooms than you'll ever have to spend in your entire life. Don't sweat it, I'm used to it. Anyway, aren't we friends?'

Ayako smiled weakly and nodded. 

'I think you better get some rest now,' Akane said. 'You sure will need whatever energy you have when the basketball team comes to visit,' she added jokingly. 'Mitsui-san is going to tell them about your hospitalization after their practice. They'll probably come then.'

'Arigatou Akane-chan,' Ayako whispered before falling back asleep.

'Don't mention it,' Akane said softly as she covered the younger girl with the hospital blanket. She then walk back quietly to the sofa and picked up her book again.

----------{@

Disclaimer: SD doesn't belong to me!

Ok, another chapter done. Happy? If anyone can animate the fighting scene, I reckon it'll be quite funny. However, I'm only and amateur writer, so forgive me if you're finding this fic not up to your standards.

As usual, mail and reviews are expected with much anticipation.

            I have nothing much to say to those people who doesn't find time to review.

Ghostwriter.


	10. Part 10

Pride and Prejudice – Part 10

By: Ghostwriter

----------{@

'Hanamichi, will you please sit down?' Mitsui roared at the red head. 'And put your head back into the car! Someone, get that idiot back into that car!'

Yohei, who was sitting beside Hanamichi in the back seat, yanked him back in.

'Thank you,' Mitsui said as he punched the button to close the window. He immediately child locked everything for their safety from the hazardous red-head. The twenty minute trip to visit Ayako at the hospital had turned into a nightmare.

Miyagi was sitting in the passenger seat, biting his nails, no doubt worrying over his beloved. Rukawa was sleeping, and to Mitsui's despair, drooling onto the leather seat. Thank God, its leather!

Sakuragi Hanamichi, the over energetic red head was sticking his head out of the window, making childish faces at the passing cars. Of course, that was before Yohei pulled him back in. Now, he was throwing the worst temper tantrum and shrieking his head off. Yohei tried calming him down but no avail. Mitsui wished desperately that Sakuragi would just imitate Rukawa – just sleep– for the remaining ten minutes to the hospital. The rest of the team had taken Akagi's car. Anzai-sensai was coming with his wife after he settled some things at the office.

'Do'aho'

Mitsui groaned. Rukawa had to wake up at that exact moment. Why can't he just sleep a bit longer? 

'Stop it, you two!' he yelled as Sakuragi lunged at Rukawa. Yohei, who was caught in the middle, unsuccessfully tried to separate them. It was more of him getting squished between the two tall and muscular basketball players. 

Mitsui groaned again, and shook the captain beside him. 'Help them, for God's sake, if you want to see you Aya-chan.'

Unfortunately, Miyagi's idea of stopping them was to jump into the backseat to try to pull them apart. Of course, the fight only grew worse.

Mitsui wished he could just crash the car into a tree and wait for someone to take them to the hospital. Better still; put those three maniacs into a mental institution. He knew it would result in trouble to allow Rukawa and Hanamichi to ride in the same car, but Hanamichi had put on his best puppy dog expression, and begged Mitsui to allow him to ride with him.

It wasn't because of his big brown adoring eyes that persuaded Mitsui. It was because Hanamichi had threatened to look at him that way for the rest of his life if he didn't agree, that frightened him into it. Of course, no one except for Yohei was willing to sit in the same car as Hanamichi. Miyagi had been too preoccupied to even choose. Rukawa, of course did not choose because he was sleeping.

Yohei scrambled into the front seat, breathing deeply. He looked as though he needed some medical attention himself. 

'Of all the fights I have been in, this is the worst!' he complained.

Mitsui did not bother to turn to look at him but as he stepped on the gas pedal, he answered 'You haven't seen the worst of it.'

----------{@

Meanwhile, in Akagi's car, it was fairly noisy, but it wasn't as though hell broke loose.

'I wonder how Mitsui's car will be by the time they reach the hospital,' Akagi voiced out thoughtfully, thinking of the sleek black car that the trouble gang piled into ten minutes ago.

'It probably needs to go to hospital itself,' the normally quiet Yasuda joked.

The truth of the statement sent the occupants in the car into gales of laughter, except for Haruko, whom as usual, looked at them blankly.

----------{@

By the time Mitsui parked his car in the hospital parking lot, he felt as though he had aged ten years. Sakuragi bounced happily out of the car whilst Mitsui and Yohei dragged the sleeping Rukawa out. Miyagi gave a display of miraculous speed as he disappeared between the sliding doors with a blink of an eye. 'Too bad he doesn't run that fast in a game,' Mitsui muttered as he tugged at the dark haired freshman.

'Mind giving us a hand here?' he hollered at the red head. Sakuragi confidently strode over to them, and yelled into the car, 'Wake up, Kitsune!'

Ok, bad idea, Mitsui thought.

'Shut up do'aho. I'm awake,' Rukawa glared at the tall red head, as he stepped out of the car. Mitsui and Yohei exchanged amused looks. Did Sakuragi's loud voice have some magic charm in it?

Mitsui banged the car door shut and the car gave a shudder. It had never experienced such maltreatment in the three years it had been in Mitsui's possession. Mitsui took one look at the vehicle. It looked as though it was fit for the junk yard. He patted the hood, 'I'll take you to the mechanic tomorrow.' With that, he followed the rest into the building.

----------{@

'And then they pulled Mito-kun into the fight. But Onii-san stopped them when they came,' Haruko finished. Ayako groaned, but winced at the contraction of muscles in her lower abdomen. How were they going to win the Winter Championships with such lax discipline? Ayako turned her head to look at the paper fan on the bedside table. It was her prized weapon, the symbol of the Shohoku Basketball Manageress. (Ghost: Sweatdrop slightly dramatic, right?)

Akagi had taken the rest with him to the nearest restaurant to get some food. Kakuta had nearly fainted from hunger and exhaustion. None of them were willing to even go near the hospital food.

'Ayako-chan, take it easy. You need your strength,' Akane said. 'I'm sure Haruko can manage.'

'But I can't,' Haruko said tearfully. 'They don't listen to me. I yell myself hoarse but they…'

The door crash open and Miyagi rushed in. 'Aya-chan, are you alright?' he asked worriedly, putting his hand on her forehead, checking for temperature. 'You have a fever! I'll call the doctor.'

'Don't be silly,' Akane stopped him, sounding annoyed and amused by his behavior at the same time. 'It's normal to get a fever after operation.'

'Really?' Miyagi looked puzzled at the idea. 'I thought that operations are to make people well, not make them sick.'

Akane rolled her eyes and proceeded to translate the body's reaction into terms that a guy can understand. 'It's like when you install a new program into the computer, and you need to shut down before the program can be fully installed. So the fever happens is when the body shuts down and adjusts to the new settings.'

'Oh, I see,' Miyagi wore a look of profound understanding.

Hanamichi, Yohei and Rukawa came in a few minutes later with Mitsui following close behind. He shut the door that Miyagi had left open.

'Now, what is it that I heard you all were fighting during practice?' she asked Miyagi sternly.

'Aya-chan, it's entirely their fault,' Miyagi said, looking at the rest of the team present accusingly.

'Nani Ryochin?' Hanamichi cried, outraged that Miyagi had placed the entire blame on them. 

'You were in it too!' added Mitsui, equally as indignant.

Ayako winced at the volume of their voices. They seem to have forgotten that they were in a hospital sickroom with a patient lying in bed.

'See, all the shouting has given Aya-chan a headache,' Miyagi said.

'What are you going to do about it, shorty?' asked Mitsui imperiously.

'That's it,' Miyagi said launching a flying kick at Mitsui. Mitsui dodged it and tackled the smaller boy. 

'A fight isn't a fight without the tensai!' Hanamichi cried as he jumped into the heat to the battle.

'Do'aho.' The slumbering Rukawa seemed to have come to life. Hanamichi's hand shot out and dragged him into the fight. And there you have it - the original Shohoku Team Bonding Session. (Ghost: ^^;;)

Ayako's hand reached out to the bedside table for her fan. But Akane was quicker. Snatching the fan from the table, she delivered four stinging blows on top of their heads.

'Enough!' she yelled. 'You storm in here, yelling yourself hoarse as though you're in a market and then you start a fight over another fight? Don't you have any sense in that skull between your head? You,' she pointed at Miyagi, 'are the basketball team's captain. And you,' she turned towards Mitsui, 'are their sempai! You two are supposed to act as an example to the team. Show some dignity for goodness sakes!'

'And you too. Are you in love with each other or something?' she continued jabbing her fan in Hanamichi and Rukawa's direction. 'You fight like lovers!' Hanamichi flushed into a pretty shade of red whereas Rukawa glowered at her, yet daring to do nothing. After all wasn't that a weapon she's wielding? 'Why don't you too just kiss and make up!' she yelled, working herself into a good old rage.

Haruko could only gasp as the enraged Akane continued her tirade. Ayako gave a small smile when she looked at the doorway. Akagi stood there stock still looking at Akane lecturing the four boys about their disgusting behavior. She looked like a mother bird, scolding her naughty chicks, who refused to listen to instructions. Hanamichi and Miyagi were backing away from her whilst Mitsui and Rukawa continued to glare, but did not say a word.

'Now, go and sit and don't move a muscle until I tell you too,' Akane finished, pointing at the seats with her fan.

'Ma'am?' Miyagi raised his hand timidly. 'May I go and sit by Aya-chan?'

'Yes, you may,' Akane said graciously. 

'Thank you, mam.' Miyagi hurried to the seat before she changed her mind.

The rest of the three shuffled noisily to the couch, grumbling. Hanamichi was the loudest. 'Godzilla hits even harder than Ayako.'

THWAP!

'That teaches you not to talk behind my back,' Akane said icily handing the fan back to Ayako. Hanamichi sat down without a word and glared angrily at Akane. Suddenly, he felt his shoulder get wet.

'Baka Kitsune! You're drooling all over the tensai…' he began furiously but sat back meekly when Akane threw him a warning glare.

The others had long tried to see past Akagi's big frame and gaped when they saw the four members obeying Akane. The silently filed up into the room. Akagi and Ayako exchanged looks and Akagi nodded. The gears in Ayako's head begin to whirr.

----------{@

Disclaimer: No, SD characters don't belong to me but Katsura Akane does. So mail me if you want to archive this fic.

Hey minna!

So, what is Ayako thinking? Hehehe? We all know Ayako's feisty personality makes her enjoys matchmaking a lot right…so…heheheh…

**Replies to Reviews.******

I can say this is my favourite part because I get to show people I do read their reviews and I appreciate them a lot! Unfortunately, I can't possible reply everyone so…I'll make this simple and answer a few questions kay?

Fehrocious: You really shouldn't speculate in public like this. What if you're right? Won't that ruin the whole plot? But you're very quick at catching hints ne? But I'm not going to tell!

Anyway, thank you to everyone who reviewed and I hope to get more replies…hnn…any questions, send them via review system or mail. I'll answer them soon.

Ja! 

Ghostlie.

April 11, 2002


	11. Part 11

**Pride and Prejudice – Part 11**

**By: Ghostwriter**

**----------{@**

            'Tell me again why I am doing this one more time,' Akane mumbled as she shoved the gym door open. Sounds of dribbling basketballs greeted her. She had to rush to the other side of the campus, where the journalism club's headquarters to drop off her article before its dateline for the monthly school paper and rush back here. She did not even have time to change out of her school uniform.

            She stood in the doorway, remembering what happened last night after the team left.

***********FLASHBACK**********

            'Please, Akane-chan. You heard how distressed Haruko-chan was just now. She can't control the team yet. They'll never listen to her. They need someone tough, and you can get them to obey you,' Ayako pleaded.

            'No,' Akane said stubbornly, continuing to read her magazine. 'Anyway, it's time Haruko gets some spunk into her and learn to stand on her own two feet. And there is no better teacher than experience.'

            'But the Shoyo game is five days away. At least just fill in for me for these few weeks,' Ayako pleaded.

            'I don't know how to play basketball,' Akane kept her voice carefully neutral.

            'You don't have to,' Ayako said excitedly. 'You only have to make sure that they don't waste time. Buckle them down.'

            'They are more like wild horses. No one can ride them.'

            'Ahh,' Ayako said slyly. 'But you enjoy a challenge, don't you?' she asked.

            Akane thought it over.

            'Please,' Ayako begged. 'Treat it as a personal favor to me.'

            Akane took one long look at the pale girl. 'Fine – four weeks,' she said with finality.

**********END OF FLASHBACK**********

            'What are you doing here?' 

            Akane looked up and saw Mitsui walking towards her. He walked pass her and shut the door from the cold winter draft. He looked at her expectantly.

            'Ayako asked me to fill in for her this few weeks.' Her voice sounds weak and foreign to her.

            By then, the entire gym had heard what she said. They all stared at her.

            'No, you can't. Get out,' Mitsui said.

            'Why can't I?' Akane demanded.

            'Because you don't know a single thing about basketball. And besides, you disrupt the practices.'

            'Oh, yeah, says who?'

            It soon turned into a full fledge yelling competition.

            'Calm down, won't you?' Miyagi said, separating them. They looked as though they were about to tear each other apart.

            'Godzilla join the team?' Hanamichi said. 'She doesn't know how to play right? And how can she play?' Hanamichi looked at Akane from head to toe.

            'I'm only going to be your manageress, not a player. And if you're referring to my physical size, you might want to remember that even Anzai-sensai can play,' Akane retorted. Hanamichi remembered his private training sessions last summer, and wisely kept his mouth shut.

'Anyway, Ayako asked me. Or else, I'll won't even think about setting foot in here,' Akane continued as she threw Mitsui a dirty look.

            'Well – if Ayako said so,' Miyagi begin but caught the icy look from Mitsui. He quickly changes tactics. 'But as a manageress, you need to know something about basketball. Tell you what, if you can just score one basket when you play one on one with one of us out of ten baskets, I'll allow you to stay.'

            'Fine,' Akane said shortly. 'Who is it going to be?'

            'Me,' Mitsui grinned slyly. He is the best defender in the team. 'I'll take her on.'

            'Alright, let the game begin,' Miyagi called. 'Err- don't you need to change into something more comfortable?' he asked, looking at Akane's uniform.

            'Never mind, I can play in this.'

            Everyone cleared off the court for them. Mitsui threw ball to Akane. 'You can start first,' he said, with a tone of superiority. Victory was his!

            _It has been so long, Akane thought, looking at the orange ball in her hands. It has been so long since she felt its rough texture. She bounced the ball and caught it again. She dribbled the ball slightly._

            _She handles the ball like she had never seen a basketball before, Mitsui thought, bored as he switched into a defensive position. __There's no way she can beat me._

            Akane dribbled the ball slowly as she walked towards the net. Mitsui quickly cut in and stole the ball. He turned and shot it into the basket. 'One down, nine to go,' he said under his breath.

            The next seven shots went in the same manner. Akane lost the ball no matter how hard she tried to keep it away. After all, Mitsui is that the top scorer in the game against Sannoh. It won't be so easy for her to get past him. And Mitsui was also getting extremely annoying by talking arrogantly all the time.

            'You know, I can let you off, if you concede now,' he said in a smug voice as he retrieved the ball and threw it to her. Akane panted, wiping the sweat away from her forehead before it got into her eyes. It'll be extremely painful if it did.

            Mitsui stole the ball when she tried to make a dash past him. He turned swiftly at the free throw line and shot. As expected, the ball went in. He looked at her, 'Nine – this is your last chance.'

            He was right, Akane realized, it was her last chance. She knew she most probably won't be able to match him shot for shot, but total defeat was terribly humiliating. A familiar voice came into her head, _'Concentrate, and do not let your surroundings affect you. Remember, you can do it.'_

            She started to dribble the ball expertly, changing the pace of the rhythm from time to time. She could see visible surprise in Mitsui's eyes. She tried blitzing past him but failed. She raised her arms, as if aiming for a shot.

            _There's no way she knows how to do fake moves, she's for real, Mitsui thought as he jumped up to block her._

            Akane smiled and mouthed the words I win to Mitsui. She leaned back and jumped slightly and released the ball. Time seemed to have suspended as they both land on the ground. Mitsui turned back to see the ball fall through the net with a swish.

            'A fade away three pointer,' Miyagi said breathlessly. 'She wins!'

            'You never told me you know how to play basketball,' Mitsui glared furiously at her.

            'You never asked,' Akane replied airily. 'You assumed I didn't.'

            'Hohoho.'

            Everyone turned to see Anzai-sensai at the doorway, clapping his hands. The whole gym erupted with applause.

            'Excuse me, I need to go and change,' Akane said as she grabbed her bag from the side lines and the paper bag containing her clothes.

            'She beat you, Mitchy,' Hanamichi said as Mitsui walked off the court.

            'So what,' Mitsui demanded in a grumbling tone. 'I got the other nine shots in.'

            'You're a sore loser,' Miyagi quipped.

            'You're lucky she let you get those nine shots in,' Rukawa stated as he walked pass them.

            'What does that mean?' Mitsui yelled.

            'Do'aho. She isn't all that clueless about the game,' Rukawa said as he turned and stared at Mitsui straight in the eye. 'She's good, but just out of practice,' he looked at all the members.

            'No one can beat the tensai.'

            'Do'aho, I can beat you anytime.' With that, he walked off.

----------{@

            Akane leaned against the cool tiles in the changing room. The voice, she thought she had wiped it off from her memory long ago. That it'll never come back to her again. She certainly had never thought of him for the past five years.

            She sank to the floor. A single tear stained her school skirt.

----------{@      

            'Katsura-san, what do you think of the team?' Anzai-sensai asked as they sat together on the bench, watching the seniors play against the juniors. Sakuragi jumped and got the rebound.

            Akane looked at the man sitting beside her. She couldn't read his expression. Of course, this is Anzai-sensai, the legendary White haired Buddha.

            'They are good,' she admitted. 'But Mitsui and Rukawa still lacks enough stamina to face to best the Winter Championships can offer. We have got strong offensive power, but weak on defense.' Akane had read Ayako's notes and watched the tapes of Shohoku games borrowed from Mari last night. (Mari is the girl who tried to interview Rukawa.)

            'What do you think of our chances of winning over Kainan?' Anzai-sensai asked again.

            Akane thought. 'We can win, but it depends on how much Kainan has improved. They did not represent Kanagawa at the IH for the past seventeen years running for no reason.'

            Anzai nodded. This girl is analytical enough.

            'Katsura-san, what do you think about Sakuragi-kun's playing?'

            Akane turned to look at the running red head. 'Among all the players, he started the last but he learnt the fastest. He got fouled because he didn't understand the rules properly. And he never ceases to surprise people. Among everyone else, he has the most room for improvement.'

            'Then I'll leave Sakuragi-kun to you,' Anzai sensai said calmly.

            'Me?' Akane squeaked. 'I can't.'

            'You can, Katsura-kun,' Anzai-sensai said as he looked at her in the eye. 'I've never been wrong in rating people, and I don't think I'm going to start now.'

            Akane was dumfounded. Anzai-sensai had just paid her a compliment. There was no way she can refuse him.

            'Very well sensai. I'll try my best,' she said sincerely.

----------{@

            Hanamichi ran to the gym. Anzai-sensai had sent a messenger to his class, requesting that he be let off because of the upcoming game. Of course, Sakuragi readily agreed, striving on any excuse to get out of lessons.

            As he neared to the gym, he heard one solitary basketball being dribbled. 'Oyaji,' he called out, as he opened the door, expecting to see the plump form of their coach.

            Instead, Akane was there.

            'Come in, and close the door,' she called without bothering to turn back. 'It's getting cold in here.'

            Hanamichi closed the door. 'Where is oyaji, and what are you doing here?' he demanded in a loud voice.

            'I'm going to train you today.'

            'Tensai doesn't need Godzilla's help.'

            'You're nothing but a baka ninjin atama, because a tensai would never pass out a chance to learn.' Akane said, looking at him straight in the eye.

            Hanamichi looked at the shorter girl, standing tall and erect. 'Or are you just scared of me?' Akane taunted.

            'Tensai is never scared of anyone,' Sakuragi said arrogantly. 'I'll accept your help.'

            'Deal,' Akane said, as she held out her hand. Hanamichi took it and the handshake sealed their pact.

----------{@

All Standard Disclaimers apply

Hey Minna…

            For your information, I've changed the teams. They will be facing Shoyo before Kainan. Thank you.

            So, now we know that Akane knows how to play basketball ne? New twist? At this point, all I can say is that every dialogue in this fic serves to build up the upcoming climax. And if you want to fully appreciate the climax when I reach it, do read, then review and voice out your opinions. Or else, you won't enjoy half the story.

            Mmm…actually, this chapter is a rewrite. It seems pretty hard for Akane to beat Mitsui. And suddenly, a voice came into her memory and revived her hopes. Who is the owner of that voice? Anyway, I believe in sports and life, as long as you have the determination and willpower to do something. In the Ryonan game, it was their will power that helps them defend. And Rukawa improved tremendously after the games because he wants to be the best high school player in Japan.

            Actually, Akane's pride would not allow her to admit defeat. And the voice from her past only serves to strengthen her determination to win. But it can be seen that this voice has evoked strong feelings in her.

            Mail!!! Review!!! Don't be mean!!! You've read my work, and it's time to pay…surely a few words and comments aren't that expensive!

            And no more comments about bad grammar in this chapter!!! Ok, I can't wait long enough to post it up, so sue me!

            By the way, I've received requests to mail you guys when my story gets updated. Those who wants me to do so, drop me a mail at ghostwriter15@hotmail.com. Kay? I'll faithfully mail you any updates.

Ghostwriter.

P/S: Calling all fellow writers and fan fiction readers! My school's site forum is hosting a thread which is titled; Fan fictions: Tribute or Rip offs. I really hope you can spare a minute or two and head down to www.smkdjnet.net and state your case. Can? The forum is located under DJnet, the button with the arrow on it. Click it and head down to the forums. There are some interesting articles in Talking Point as well. Thank You…Hope to see you guys there.


	12. Part 12

Pride and Prejudice – Part 12

By: Ghostwriter

----------{@

'Ok, do your basics now,' Akane instructed Hanamichi.

'Nani? Tensai doesn't need to do basic exercises!' Hanamichi protested. 

Akane looked at him seriously, 'Everyone needs to do their basics. It's the essence - the foundation to a fine play.'

The words fine play had their effect on the red head. He immediately started to dribble the ball furiously.

Akane smiled a little, 'I've stopped playing basketball for quite some time. I should be getting back to the basics again.' With that, she resumed the basic position, and dribbled the ball in a slow and steady rhythm.

'Nyahahaha – Godzilla can only dribble that fast,' Hanamichi laughed maniacally.

Akane glared at him as she increased her speed and decreased after a few seconds. Increased and decreased. 'You try doing that.' (Ghost: You know, that little trick Rukawa pulled in the Ryonan game.)

Hanamichi struggled. All the while, Akane looked complete at ease while Hanamichis lost control of the ball. 'How do you do that?' he demanded.

'Practice,' Akane replied coolly. 'So much practice that I can have absolute control, and I can do this because I did my basics.'

For the next thirty minutes, Hanamichi continued his basics without so much of a protest.

----------{@

'Let's have a little one on one,' Akane said, dribbling the ball. 'You go first.'

'Let Tensai show you his real skills,' Hanamichi shouted and finished with a maniacal laugh. Akane merely rolled her eyes as she raised her arms and bent low. Hanamichi dribbled the ball slowly at first before increasing the speed. He slowed down again. All the while, Akane kept her eyes on him. It was a marvel how quickly he had mastered the skill.

Like a flash of lightning, Hanamichi attempted to blitz past Akane, heading for the basket – only to find himself dribbling air. Akane had easily stolen the ball and was dribbling and sprinting towards the other end of the court.

'Don't even think about it!' Hanamichi cried as he ran past her to defend the basket. Akane grinned as she stopped behind the three point line and shot. The ball made a beautiful arc and landed in the net.

'Nani?!' Hanamichi exclaimed, not believing his eyes. 'How did you read the Tensai's moves?' he asked in an incredulous voice. He had watched Rukawa pull the speed of the ball stunt against Sendoh and had succeeded, whereas the Tensai couldn't even fool a girl.

'Experience,' Akane said shortly. When she saw the blank look in Hanamichi's eyes, she continued. 'Experience. The more of it, the better. You'll be able to read your opponents next move. Left? Right? Fake? Real? All this are the deciding factors in a play. Now, you try to guard me.'

She dribbled the ball, using the same technique as he had. 'Come! Tensai is ready for anything!' Hanamichi challenged, guarding her.

She pushed, but Hanamichi pushed back. She returned to her original position, still dribbling the ball.

'Is this the best you can do?' Hanamichi taunted her. He tried to snatch the ball away from her.

Akane gritted her teeth and got the ball out of his reach. With a spurt of speed, she moved to the left, away from his hand and shot.

Hanamichi turned to see the ball land into the basket.

'First rule – never underestimate your opponent,' Akane said quietly. 'I'm an experienced long range shooter. You must guard me at that.'

'Why are you telling me this?' Hanamichi inquired. 'You're letting me know what your forte is.'

'It's only fair,' Akane shrugged. 'I know all your weaknesses as well as plays.'

'You do?'

'Of course I do,' Akane said crossly. 'And you need to work on your defense. So let's get cracking.'

----------{@

'So how was the training?' Anzai sensai asked, while calmly sipping his tea. 

'There might be hope for that baka ninjin atama yet,' Akane said briefly, studying the charts. She frowned. Could Hanamichi really match up to Akagi's skills under the net? She couldn't help him in that area. She hardly got into the front court when she played.

Yes, he can. Akane thought firmly. I have faith in him.

She looked up just in time to see the beginning of another outbreak of chaos. She grabbed the fan and strode over to the source of the noise.

THWAP THWAP THWAP THWAP. 

The Fan of Doom found their targets accurately as Akane swung her arms in a swing that would have made any golfer proud.

'Ite!' Hanamichi gave his trademark howl, holding his steaming – behind. 'How dare you hit the tensai's butt?' The other three players glared at her ominously.

Akane gave him a shrug of indifference. 'You're all too tall. Anyway, I do not want to risk dispelling whatever gray matter you all have left. Now get back to practice before I make sure you all can't sit down for a week.'

They disbanded amidst their grumbling. Haruko watched her senior with fascination. She was the ultimate manageress – a strict disciplinarian as well as a skilled player. 

'Why doesn't she loosen up?' Mitsui grumbled under his breath. Only Miyagi heard him. He grinned. 'Scared that stress might catch up with your girlfriend?' he teased the scar-faced senior.

Five seconds later, Mitsui walked away from the captain sprawled on the ground with swirls for eyes.

'He tripped,' Mitsui said calmly to the gaping juniors.

They did not hesitate to agree with the senior.

----------{@

'You should have seen how Katsura-senpai handled the team,' Haruko recounted to Ayako in the hospital room later that evening. 'I had to make several extra paper fans,' she added in a low tone.

Ayako smiled. Getting Akane to help out was the best thing ever, and from Haruko's glowing recount of yesterday's match between Akane and Mitsui, it was safe to say that Akane was a great basketball player.

The Winter Championships might be possible after all.

----------{@

Akane stumbled into her apartment. She kicked of her shoes and slipped into a pair of slippers in the hallway. The day had totally worn her out. It has been so long since she had such a strenuous day.

The apartment looks like a pig sty. But Akane just walked right past the clutter; oblivious of the mess around her. Mentally, she reviewed her day.

After her training with that irritating red head, she had to stay for the practice. She thought she might be able to catch a few minutes of nap in between training – but no, they had to cause trouble and make her keep a wary eye on them, hitting them on their rump every other minute.

Then, she went to the hospital to see Ayako. She was very glad that the feisty manageress of the team seems to be on the mend. Ayako's parent's thanked her for her help. Ayako stayed for half an hour – for courtesy's sake, and now she was home – her stomach protesting and her body longing for a hot shower and a warm bed.

Then she saw the couch.

With pillows.

A soft surface.

Akane headed towards it, walking like a zombie. A voice in her head screamed at her. It's white! You're filthy! Think of the bill from the dry cleaners. Wake up, girl! Get a grip!

'To hell with that,' Akane muttered as she tumbled in between the pillows and fell fast asleep.

----------{@

Akane opened her eyes and looked around. Her stomach growled with angry protest. She stared at the clock hanging on the wall, trying to read the time as the last remnants of her sleep faded.

It read 6:30.

Akane groaned. She must really be out of shape to go out for at least ten hours straight. Heck, she usually does eighteen hour days without hitch when she has some deadlines to meet. Of course, she didn't have to deal with a bunch of hyperactive boys those times.

Akane padded into the kitchen and switched on the coffee maker. The dark fluid in the machine bubbled and was ready in no time. Pouring the liquid into a mug, she padded out of the kitchen again. She took a swig of the bitter liquid and took a look around her apartment and grimaced.

Takana-san is ever going to be so angry with me, Akane thought grimly. The image of the stern woman flashed through her mind. I might as well get out of here before she comes, she decided. I'll take a shower and go to practice now. I really need to tone up.

She stuffed her school clothes into her duffel bag and raced out of the apartment.

On the table, she left a short note. ' Gomen nasai Takana-san! '

----------{@

Disclaimers: 

I love this part…if Takehiko-san wants to buy the rights to this story, I'm sure we can work out a deal. Unfortunately, I'm not interested to buy the rights to Slam Dunk. Or rather, I lack the financial resources needed to accomplish this feat.

Konnichiwa Minna-san!

Heheh…My thoughts in this chapter – what is the pairing now? Is it going to be a Hana X Akane? whistles I'll leave you to your own speculations ne?

Fehrocious: You are not mushy. And thank God you did not give away the whole plot. But then again, it's pretty hard to grasp what is in this mind of mine.

Liez: Forgive me if there are some mistakes, grammatical or otherwise. I can be quite blind at times.

Eliar Swiftfire: Iie – don't throw up yet! Anyway, glad you enjoy the one on one scene. 


	13. Part 13

**Pride and Prejudice – Part 13**

**By: Ghostwriter**

**----------{@**

            'What are you doing here?' they both yelled at the same time just as they bumped into each other in the dark outside the gym.

            'Practice – duh!' they both continued simultaneously.

            They unlocked the door and walked inside. Mitsui jogged to the other end of the court where the electrical switches were. He flipped them on and the gym exploded into light.

            'I never knew you come so early,' Akane remarked, removing her sweater and scarf. The gym was beginning to get comfortably warm.

            'I never thought a pig like you will be able to wake up before dawn,' Mitsui countered, unbuttoning his trench coat.

            'Che – we monsters need to move around in the dark,' Akane joked.

            Mitsui laughed and looked at her weirdly. 'Since when do you have a sense of humor?'

            'I've always had a sense of humor,' Akane retorted.

            'Oh yeah? You've always been an uptight little prune around. Or rather – little prune does not exactly do justice to your size, ne?'

            'Hey I resent that! And I'm not uptight!' Akane said angrily grabbing the fan from her bag and advancing towards Mitsui.

            'Don't you even dare think of hitting me with that thing! Official practice hasn't even started!' Mitsui warned, grabbing her wrist and exerting pressure until she dropped the fan.

            'Unfair! You took advantage of your masculine strength,' Akane complained, picking up the fan and rubbing her slightly red wrist. 'I demand satisfaction! On court!' There was a glint in her eyes.

            'You're on!' Mitsui accepted.

            Soon, they were doing an intricate dance on court, waving their hands whilst crouching low.

----------{@

            'That was exhilarating!' Akane said, plopping onto the bench. 'I've never felt so alive.'

            Indeed her face was rosy pink from their game and her sea green eyes here miraculously bright. Her hair was becoming undone from her tight bun.

            She looked almost pretty.

            Mitsui shook his head to clear himself. Akane's voice interrupted his thoughts.

            'I would have thought that MVP Mitsui Hisashi would have moved faster than this overweight monster,' Akane said teasingly. 'Perhaps the baka ninjin atama is right – you're getting old Mitchy, you should retire.'

            _Since when did she start calling me Mitchy? Mitsui opened his mouth to reply but decided against it. Anything was better than jaaku. Instead he said, 'Old huh? I thought we're in the same year?_

            'Yup, but I'm born in July. You're older than me!' Akane said. 

Mitsui scowled. Her company was pleasant as her wit was sharp. So long she wasn't bent on criticizing his ever move. 'Only by two months.'

            'You're still a big bully if you bully young and innocent girls.' Akane assumed her best expression of wide eyed innocence.

            Mitsui snorted. 'Who dares bully you?' he asked sarcastically. 'Even Napoleon will run the other way when he sees you coming with that thing,' he said as he looks at the fan. He had never known the true power of the Fan of Doom since Ayako never dared hit him with it. Ayako has this notion that seniors must be respected.

            'This is such a little baby,' Akane said as she handled the fan lovingly.

            'Good thing it isn't a real one. I can just imagine you taking your baby by the legs and swinging it at us,' Mitsui snickered.

            'TEME MITCHY NO BAKA!' Akane cried. 'I'm not that bad!'

            'No you're worse. Worse than a barbarian,' Mitsui continued. 'Oops…' Mitsui said as he looked up to see a very menacing looking Akane advancing upon him. 

            'Help! Tetsukete! (Save me!),' Mitsui cried as Akane raced after him all around the court with the fan in one hand.

----------{@

Mitsui stole a look at his lab partner. His head was still slightly sore.

Akane knew she could not outrun the Mitsui so she did the only thing she could thing of. She threw the fan at him. It missed. He turned around to tease her when her shoe landed on his forehead. (Ghost: Now, picture SD Mitchy fall down with swirls for eyes; o_O) Mitsui grimaced as he touched the sore spot on his forehead.

She had put on a pair of frameless spectacles and seemed to be totally absorbed in what the sensai was saying.

            This was an irony, since they sleep through most of the classes together. But during creative writing classes and Biology was when she truly came alive.

            And this was another irony because he hates biology and languages. He prefers advanced math and physics which she hates.

            They were given frogs, slimy green ones which will be dead within the next hour.

            Akane was moving about with efficiency, taking out the microscopes and scalpels. The frog was neatly arranged on the tray, waiting for its doom.

            'Do you want to do it?' Akane asked. Mitsui looked at the green amphibian on the stainless steel tray when he felt himself turned a shade paler. 'No, thanks,' he said. 'I think monsters are more suited for jobs like killing off poor defenseless creatures.'

            Akane stuck her tongue out at him. For an instant, Mitsui considered continuing 'lessons' in front of the entire class. 'Remember what I told you at the gym,' he warned her.

            Akane considered it and the memory of them kissing on the gym floor came back instantly to her. She blushed and turned her attentions back to the frog. Privately, she admitted to herself that she wouldn't mind letting him kiss the living daylights out of her.

            She concentrated and made a slit in the chest with the scalpel. Soon she managed to remove the heart and placed it on a slide beneath the microscope. She peered through the lens before beckoning Mitsui to take a look at the slide.

            Mitsui carefully averted his gaze from the bloody frog and peered through the lens quickly before nodding his agreement. He quickly sat down to write the observations. He looked at Akane who continue to stand in front of the bloody tray with that bloody scalpel in her gloved hands which were unsurprisingly, also bloody.

            'What are you doing?' he asked as he moved behind her and looked over the shoulder.

            'Practicing total dissection, I'm trying to remove the liver, lungs and other vital organs as well. Since it has already given life for the sake of our education, we shouldn't waste his noble sacrifice,' she said absent mindedly. She held out her scalpel with something that resembles a short string with bits of raw flesh hanging on to it. 'I removed this from the leg.'

            Mitsui took one look at the vein and the contents of the basin before he automatically palled and streaked across the room to the nearest basin, where he started puking his breakfast out.

----------{@

            'Nyahahahaha – Mitchy is scared of blood,' Hanamichi laughed at the lunch table.   'I'm not scared of blood,' Mitsui retorted. 

            'No, you're terrified of it,' Miyagi smirked.

            Akagi and Kogure struggled to hide their smiles.

            'Oh, cut it out,' Mitsui cried as he took a piece of squid from his bento. But it looked so much like the frog from the bio lab, he hastily put it right back. It only made the others laughed even more.

            'I'm leaving,' Mitsui said in an offended tone. He walked away, leaving the chortles of laughter behind him.

----------{@

            Mitsui kicked a partially buried can out of his way. Where can he go? He was hungry. One shouldn't be surprised – he had performed a tremendous amount of exercise this morning. Who ever would have thought that that lump of fat can prove to be such a challenge? He had almost lost, but it ended with a tie.

            And he had just left his lunch with those jerks at the cafeteria. (Ghost: I thought you left it because it resembles the frog that died.)

            He found himself walking towards the gyms. _Might as well shoot some hoops, he thought gloomily__. Basketball might help me take my mind off my stomach. (Ghost: Mitchy no Baka! You'll probably faint first!)_

As he neared the gym, he saw the din of lights through the fogged up windows. He wondered who was inside, since he remembered turning off the main switch before they left for classes.

He opened the door and scanned the large gym. Sitting on a bench with a book opened on her lap and a lunchbox by her side was Katsura Akane, dressed in her training clothes. She didn't seem to have noticed his entrance.

Mitsui shut the door silently, a sneaky idea formed in his mind. He then quietly tip-toed to the girl and stood in front of her. To his utmost surprise, she still hasn't noticed him. He tapped her briskly on the shoulder.

As expected, she looked up. And Mitsui made the most gruesome face he can ever make.

Akane screamed.

In one fluid motion, she closed the thick book on her lap and hit her 'attacker' with it.

'Ite!' Mitsui cried, holding his hand to his cheek. 'What did you do that for?'

Having gotten over the 'surprise', Akane replied calmly, 'You scared me.'

'You're supposed to faint if you're frightened, not slug that person in the person!' Mitsui said as he rubbed his sore cheek_. First my forehead, now my cheek, he thought grumpily to himself._

'But you must agree that hitting your attacker is more effective than fainting,' Akane argued.

'But I wasn't an attacker!' Mitsui shouted.

'No, you looked like a monster.'

'Baka obake! I do not look like the monster. You're the monster.'

'I'm not a monster!' Akane said, getting angry at each passing moment. 'At least I don't look like that!' With that statement, she screwed her face into an imitation of what Mitsui had done earlier.

'I do not look like that!' Mitsui said defiantly.

'No, I believe you looked even worst than that,' Akane replied without batting an eyelid.

Mitsui's eyes strayed towards the open lunchbox. There were several pieces of cookies there. His stomach grumbled.

Akane found him staring longingly at her lunchbox. She then picked up a piece and deliberately made a show of eating it. 'Mmm – oiishi! (delicious!). 

To his utmost disgust, Mitsui found his mouth watering.

Akane looked at Mitsui from the corner of the eye. She smiled inwardly. The guy was practically drooling at her feet. She sighed resignedly, 'Go on, have a piece.'

Without hesitating, Mitsui snatched a piece up and popped it straight into his mouth. With his mouth full, he managed to mumble a word that sounds like 'delicious'. He swallowed, 'Did you bake that?'

'No, I got it from the bakery on my way here,' Akane admitted.

'Figures, I don't think a monster like you could have cooked anyway,' Mitsui said as he took another piece.

'Hey, watch it. I am letting you eat my food and all you can do is insult me. What happened to your bento anyway?' Akane asked curiously.

'Umm…I didn't feel like eating cold food today. I was craving for something sweet,' Mitsui said. It was a half truth. He really didn't feel like eating anything that resembles that cold-blooded creature Akane had murdered today (in his mind, he played no part in the dissection) and his stomach was craving for something edible.

'I thought you didn't want to eat your sushi because it looked like the frog,' Akane said slyly.

Mitsui glared at her and wondered how she knew.

'Who would have thought that the great Mitsui Hisashi would be afraid of dissecting a frog? And to think that you've participated in all those bloody fights,' Akane continued with a smile on her face as she watched Mitsui squirmed about. 'I am starting to think that all those fights I've heard about are just B.S.'

Mitsui continued to glare most angrily at her. After all, what she said was true. After all, he was the leader of a gang before and had witnessed so many bloody gang wars that he thought he was immune to violence.

But he had barfed when he looked at a dissected frog.

How mortifyingly embarrassing it was!

'What are you reading anyway,' he asked, trying to change the subject. He picked up the book and looked through the pages. It was in English. 'You can read English?' he asked, looking at Akane.

'Of course I can, dummy. I've stayed in America for a period of time,' Akane retorted. 'I can read and write fluently in three languages,' she announced proudly.

'Really?' Mitsui asked, looking interested. 'How is America like?' 

And for the next half an hour, they sat there and talked about America, which led on to the NBA and their favorite players whilst eating Akane's lunch.

----------{@

Disclaimer: I don't own Slam Dunk.

Gomen nasai minna!!! I was having exams!!! Anyway, I'll post a lot of chapters this week ok!

Anyway, I would like to inform you that the fanfiction.net Slam Dunk Fanfiction contest is officially open. Please go to the next chapter for more information. I know my first announcement was taken off….Yeah, and my account got frozen for a few days because of that.

There are some changes, but nothing big….you can mail all your nominations to sd_constaff@yahoo.com. Thank you for your support…and I would like to inform you that all administrator posts have been taken. I'll post up more information soon… very soon.

Thank you…

Ghostwriter.


	14. CONTEST ANNOUNCEMENT

Ghostwriter presents:  
  
Fanfiction.net  
  
Slam Dunk  
  
Fan fiction contest  
  
Ahem. Looks at speech To my fellow writers and readers, I bid you all a very warm welcome.  
  
As I have been haunting around for these past few months, I find that the Slam Dunk section has been experiencing and amazing growth rate. From a mere 200 fictions, it has grown into a strong 600+ fictions in the past few months! May God bless this section with continuous growth rate! Cheers  
  
Anyhow, I've been reading and I find that there are a lot of pretty good fics around that aren't posted up in the more prominent SD fan sites out there. What a waste and these fan fictions are seldom nominated for any of the ongoing fan fiction contests. And I seriously think these beautiful stories should not go unnoticed. This contests also serves to encourage aspiring writers.  
  
And this is why I've started FF.net's own SD Fan fiction Contest! Hehe, and this ghost is going to be running this whole thing. Yep, I've really got nothing to do.  
  
First and foremost, I need people to help me run this thing, to make sure that the whole contest is fair. After all, you all might argue that I'm showing favoritism or something. =P. If you're interested in the below posts, please feel free to mail me at ghostwriter15@hotmail.com.  
  
Administrators:-  
  
These are the people who are going to be sorting out the nominations as well as votes. I think I'll need at least four other people to help me. So do mail me, pronto, if you want this job. First mail first serve basis.  
  
Panel of Judges:-  
  
The panel of Judges consists of writers/readers/reviewers that will filter through the submissions at the end of October. This panel has to be extremely strict and have a good command of language. Please send me a sample of your writing if you wish to apply. The Panel of Judges will not be revealed until the end of the nominating period.  
  
Web Designer:-  
  
Ok, I've got to admit, I'm hopeless when it comes to computers and web design. So, if any kind soul is willing to design a page to host the awards, I'll be eternally grateful. I'm afraid the administrator of FF.net will kick me if they find out I've been sort of misusing their site. ^^;;. Anyway, there is only one opening for this post. I understand that these jobs are easier if they are managed by only one person. And please!!! You must be really dedicated to your work because I don't want the page to be hanging around with lots of broken links!!! You can work with a partner if you want to, but please make sure you two are compatible. Actually, we don't really need a really cool site, but it'll be nice if it's beautiful as well as efficient. If you are chosen, and in the middle of making of the page, you decide you need time off, please inform me beforehand. Ahh…send in your resume with your site address, and if your site is so good till it makes me want to die all over again, you've got the job!  
  
If no one is interested in this job, be prepared to see a really sloppy site done by me.  
  
Hnn…I guess that's all. You can start applying for the openings listed above. Ok, let's move on to the Rules and Regulations.  
  
Nomination:-  
  
Any piece of fiction is illegible for nomination as long as the fic nominated is posted up on FF.net. Ahh…and not to be forgotten, the fic must me completed. I've seen plenty of stories that started out well but ended really badly. sigh What a waste. So, writers don't hurry, because the closing date for this contest is on the first of November. You'll be wondering why the closing date is so far away, right? This is to allow writers enough time to finish their fics if they wish to send it in for nomination. Yes, you can nominate your own work, but you're not allowed to vote for it, ok?  
  
Ok, if the nominated fic isn't completed in time, then it'll be automatically forwarded to next year's contest.  
  
To nominate stories, copy the form below into a blank mail and fill in the blanks. You can nominate as many stories as you want to, in one mail if possible. Only registered FF.net members are illegible to vote and nominate fics. And you're only allowed to vote once for each category.  
  
FF.net Pen Name :  
  
User ID :  
  
Choice of Fiction :  
  
Award :  
  
Author :  
  
Author's User ID :  
  
Story ID :  
  
You can start nominating your favorite fics starting from 25 May. Meanwhile, do surf around and make up your mind!  
  
Another thing is that once the fiction has won the award, that fiction will automatically be banned from being entered into next year's competition. This is to let others get a chance. Other less luck nominated fictions is allowed to be submitted again and again until they win. =P  
  
Got it? Good. Let's move on to Voting.  
  
As I've said, only registered members of FF.net are allowed to vote. This is to prevent certain parties from mailing votes repeatedly to me using different mails. I can at least check on you guys if I've got some particulars listed somewhere. Hehe…and FF.net can also get more members. But people, please don't cheat by opening multiple accounts.  
  
The final list of Nominations will be posted up after November and the voting period will run from November 2002 into mid March. Results will be announced on the 1st of April, in celebration of Hana-kun's birthday!  
  
Ok, currently, the awards up for grabs are:-  
  
The Most Well Written Fic. (All rounder)  
  
Best Romance Fiction (You know, Lovey-dovey)  
  
Best Comedy/Humor Fiction (The ones that you can laugh till you cry)  
  
Best Fantasy/Horror/Mystery/Supernatural/Science Fiction (You get what I mean by just reading the title)  
  
Best Angst/Death Fiction (Boo hoo hoo…I'm crying because it's so sad!!!)  
  
Best Song Fiction (You've gotta know what it means right? It means a story with a song as an accompaniment.)  
  
Best Poem (I've gotta add this!)  
  
Best One-shot (Finished in one long chapter)  
  
Best Ficlet (1000 words and below!)  
  
Best Series (Something like Annie D's 'Ore Wa Tensai Sakura' series)  
  
Best YAOI Fiction (BoyXBoy Love)  
  
Best Non-Yaoi Fiction (BoyXGirl Love)  
  
Best Lemon/NC-17 (Ahhh!!! For people seventeen years of age and above only! ^^;; Not like I can stop you if you really want to vote.)  
  
That's all I can think of. Mail me if you can think of anything else. And this is one award I'm sure everyone wants:  
  
The Most Aspiring Writer Award.  
  
This award is to commemorate the one fan fic writer that has contributed good-quality reads to the SD fandom in FF.net. An award voted by their peers, I'm sure this award is one of the most meaningful awards.  
  
On a lighter note, you can also vote for this. It can be from any fic, original character or from the manga/anime itself:  
  
1) Best Original Character : (Character name) from (Name of Fiction/Story ID) by (Author's Pen Name/User ID). You can nominate any character for this one as long as it's from the author's own imagination and not from the manga.  
  
2) Best pairing : (Pairing) from (Name of Fiction/Story ID) by (Author's Pen Name/User ID)  
  
3) My favorite Original Character from SD : (Character)  
  
4) My favorite Villain : (Character name) from (Name of Fiction/Story ID) by (Author's Pen Name/User ID)  
  
5) The most annoying character : (Character) from (Name of Fiction/Story ID if it's an original character) by (Author's Pen Name/User ID)  
  
Ok, I must ask you not to nominate or vote for any stories via Review because all votes and Nominations are to be kept secret!!!  
  
In this contest, grammar counts if you want to get into the final round. So get yourself a beta reader or editor for your fics before the the end of October!!!  
  
The list of Nominated Fics will be updated every two weeks.  
  
I hope you'll all lend me your support to make this a success. Even if you don't wish to join the staff and help out, still, do vote for your favorite fics to show support for your favorite writer.  
  
Thank You.  
  
Ghostwriter. 


	15. Part 14

Pride and Prejudice – Part 14  
  
By: Ghostwriter  
  
----------{@  
  
"Go Shohoku!" the fans from the bleachers called out as they marched out from the doors opening to the court..  
  
"Nyahahaha! Listen to them cheer for the tensai!" Hanamichi laughed again.  
  
"Do'aho."  
  
A huge bead of sweat-ran down the nape of Akane's neck. It was almost time to start the match  
  
"Aya-chan, I'm doing this for you," Miyagi cried, whilst holding Ayako's hands. She was already well enough to leave the hospital but the doctor advised her not to do anything tiring for the next three weeks. And managing the Shohoku team's discipline is even more taxing than running a cross country marathon.  
  
"Ganbatte (Work hard), Mito-kun," Haruko said, blushing slightly. Turning to Hanamichi and Rukawa, "and you too, Sakuragi-kun and Rukawa-kun," she added.  
  
"Hai!" Yohei replied. Hanamichi and Rukawa exchanged looks of steely determination. You can feel the air cackling with tension between them.  
  
Meanwhile, a good two meters away…  
  
"Don't be disgraced out there, Mitchy," Akane said as she tapped him on the shoulder. Mitsui turned around to face her. "It'll look bad on me too."  
  
Mitsui looked slightly annoyed but couldn't help being pleased by her unvoiced encouragement. "I've never disgraced myself before."  
  
"Oh yes you have," Akane said, her eyes twinkling. "You lost to me at our first match."  
  
"Hmphf," Mitsui snorted. "You were lucky."  
  
"You're living in denial."  
  
"I'm not," Mitsui replied stubbornly.  
  
The referee blew his whistle, signaling for the players to on court.  
  
"Yare yare." (Ghost: It loosely translates into, "There he goes again.") Akane laid her fingers onto her lips and touched his cheek. "It's a custom in America among the foreigners that a girl should kiss the guy before a game, as good luck charm," she explained. "But as Japanese, we're not that open, so that'll just have to do."  
  
Mitsui arched an eyebrow at her. Her gesture of affection had shocked him even more than the time she did the fade-away three pointer in his face.  
  
"Hayakku (Hurry up), Mitchy,"  
  
"Yeah," Mitchy called. "Thanks," he said, with a slight pinkish tinge on his cheek.  
  
"We're the strongest," they cried as they walked onto the court.  
  
"They look good," Ayako commented as the referee threw the ball into the air. Hanamichi, having perfected his skills, swap the ball away into the waiting hands of Miyagi.  
  
"They are good," Akane replied with pride.  
  
"Especially Mitsui-senpai, ne?" Ayako said slyly.  
  
"Yeah," Akane replied her eyes still on the game. Hanagata was defending Hanamichi very thoroughly. Hanamichi passed the ball swiftly to Yohei. She blushed slightly when she realized her slip up.  
  
"How are you guys getting along now?" Ayako asked.  
  
"Fine, they are not so bad once you get used to them." Yohei passed the ball to Rukawa. Surprisingly, Hanamichi did not go into fits when he did that.  
  
Ayako rolled her eyes. "Don't even try to change the subject. You know I'm talking about you and Mitsui-senpai." Rukawa took aim and released the ball. It went cleanly through the net. (Ghost: Of course it went in. What do you expect?)  
  
The stadium broke into applause and cheers from Shohoku's side. Haruko and the other members on the bench were too busy cheering to take notice of the two girl's conversation.  
  
"He's ok," Akane said carefully after the applause died down. "But he vomits when he looks at a dissected frog." Akane couldn't help smiling at the memory.  
  
Ayako raised an eyebrow. "It seems that you guys are getting along more than fine."  
  
"Well, we still have a few months to go before we graduate. We might be able to become friends," Akane replied evasively.  
  
"Or more than that," added Ayako. "We should concentrate on the game." The ball was in Shohoku's possession again and the score was now 12 – 10 in Shohoku's favor. Time was running out since Shoyo had put on a tight knit offence.  
  
Miyagi dribbled the ball as he approached them. He was met by a Shoyo player that was at least 10 centimeters taller than him. Rukawa signaled for him to pass the ball to him. Miyagi did not hesitate to do just that.  
  
Rukawa dribbled the ball effortlessly as Fujima guarded him. He could feel Fujima's defense weakening slightly.  
  
He has certainly improved a lot since the last time we met, Fujima thought. Rukawa was certainly putting up a good fight. The sophomore guarding Yohei, saw Fujima's dilemma moved away to help his captain, leaving Yohei free.  
  
"Zone press," Ayako said under her breath, as she watched the two tall players guard the raven haired freshman. Her earlier conversation with Akane was momentarily forgotten. She looked at the timer Akane was holding, "5 more seconds"  
  
From the corner of his eye, Rukawa noticed that Yohei's free and was running towards the basket. Without hesitating, he threw the ball to Yohei. Yohei stood in front of the foul line.  
  
"4!" the crowd chanted.  
  
Yohei too aim.  
  
"3!"  
  
And he released the ball.  
  
"2!"  
  
The ball sailed through the air.  
  
"1!"  
  
The ball went in.  
  
"0!"  
  
The stadium erupted into cheers as Hanamichi patted him on the back, demanding where he learned how to do a jump shot like that.  
  
"Remember the training camp we had for you last summer and you did 20 000 jumps shots?" Yohei asked as they ran back side by side.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Well, I spent two weeks looking at you do it. Don't you think I should have learnt some things as well?" Yohei winked at Hanamichi. "You're not the only tensai around."  
  
"Nyahahaha…you're right. But there can only be one basket-o man Sakuragi Hanamichi! Nyahahaha," Hanamichi proclaimed as he laughed crazily again.  
  
Yohei smiled as he went into a defensive stance. It was good to be fighting alongside Hanamichi again. After the red head had joined the basketball team, he seldom got into fights anymore. It was nice to know that they were still together watching each others backs.  
  
The Shohoku team was cheering their lungs out. Akane and Ayako ceased to talk but concentrated on the game.  
  
***  
  
The first half ended with the score tied. 42 – 42  
  
As the team trooped off the court, Ayako leaned over towards Akane and whispered, "Your Mit-chan is coming."  
  
To her utmost horror, Akane felt her face go red as Mitsui and the others approached them.  
  
"What's wrong with you? Your face looks like a ripe tomato – red. Are you ill or something?" he asked her.  
  
Akane blushed even harder when he laid his palm on her forehead. It did not help with Ayako snickering as she and the others walked off heading for the locker room. "I'm ok," she said as he took his hand of her forehead. She quickly followed the others to the locker room.  
  
Mitsui stood there a while, pondering over her sudden bashful behavior before going to the locker room himself.  
  
***  
  
In the last ten seconds of the game, it was exceptionally exciting. The score was still a tie and Shoyo somewhat seemed revived during the half time earlier on.  
  
Miyagi effectively stole the ball and passed it to Rukawa. It was probably a bad move since three of Shoyo's players abandon their posts and went to help Fujima guard Rukawa. It was probably their last resort – to make Rukawa unable to score and effectively gain extra time.  
  
Rukawa was unable to get the ball out of the tight defense the four Shoyo players had erected.  
  
Instead, he jumped and threw the ball towards the hoop.  
  
Threw – no aiming, no position – nothing.  
  
Everyone in the stadium held their breath.  
  
"It's too high," Haruko said. Anyone with a bit of basketball knowledge predicted it'll never go in.  
  
Suddenly, Hanamichi was there and he jumped, high, caught the ball and smashed it through the hoop.  
  
The entire audience was shocked.  
  
"Ally hoop," Akane said, breathlessly.  
  
"Rukawa and Sakuragi," Ayako added with her eyes wide with disbelief.  
  
The entire stadium erupted with thunderous applause. The players shook hands as a sign of good sportsmanship and one by one, they walked off the court.  
  
All the members on the Shohoku bench were applauding and cheering, slapping each other on their backs. Miyagi was all over Ayako, who for once lost control and hugged him. Miyagi immediately floated into seventh heaven.  
  
Through the midst of the joyful racket, Mitsui winked at Akane and she smiled back at him.  
  
***  
  
Mitsui waited for Akane as she packed up everything from the bench. The rest of the guys were in the shower room – some of them taking a relaxing shower whilst the others lounge around chatting happily. Ayako had gone home. After 6 consecutive wins, they were all in extremely high spirits.  
  
"So, did I disgrace you?" he asked.  
  
Akane thought of his outstanding performance – 9 three pointers and various plays during the game before replying, "No, you did not."  
  
Mitsui grinned and winked at her, "I guess the lucky charm worked after all. Maybe you should give me that before every game."  
  
Akane turned away, feeling her face go red again. What was this feeling she was experiencing now? He was practically flirting with her! No one flirts with the ugly fat girl! Yes he must be playing with her, knowing she won't take his advances seriously.  
  
"I'm sure you can find loads of other females, wanting to give you the lucky charm,"  
  
Mitsui laughed and asked instead, "Are you going to the celebration?"  
  
"Yeah, and I think you need to take a shower now. You stink!" Akane wrinkled her nose to make her point.  
  
Mitsui laughed as she tugged him to where the other guys were.  
  
***  
  
Mitsui was thinking deeply as he stepped into the shower. He turned the knob to turn the shower on to the full blast. The warm water ran down his face, neck, his strong arms, and well muscled arms in artful trails, relaxing his tensed muscles. (Ghost: Nosebleeds Wow, he's hot!)  
  
Is it possible that I've gotten a crush on her? Mitsui asked himself. With obake (monster)? Nah! Besides, I've passed the stage where my hormones are still crazy. And she is certainly not the type of girl that a guy with have a crush on.  
  
Then, could it be love?  
  
But even he could not deny how he felt about her when she touched his cheek. Her expression she wore when she explained the meaning of her gesture. Mitsui unconsciously touched his cheek. No one had ever done that for him before.  
  
During his outstanding career in Junior High, he had never been interested in girls. Of course, there were loads of girls willing to be his girlfriend, but his first love was basketball. After his injury, he had slipped into the shadows. The girls he knew that time would most probably either slap him on the back or kiss him forcefully on the lips. But they were his 'friends' only because of his influence or body.  
  
And after he had rejoined the basketball team, he seldom saw them anymore. And of course, all the girls now are head over heels in love with Rukawa. He used to envy the handsome freshmen. He had everything – basketball, the chicks and money. He could tell from the way he dressed and the model of the disc man he carries around. Not many people noticed it, but Rukawa changes his disc man every few weeks. And the ones he buys are always the newest model.  
  
Of course, as the son of Mitsui Keiji, he had money. And he has basketball again.  
  
And he didn't want all those fan girls hanging all over him anymore.  
  
The only woman he wants now is Katsura Akane.  
  
Did I just think of that? Mitsui asked himself slapping his forehead. Boy, I've really got it bad now. He smiled as he thought of the chubby temporary manageress.  
  
Sure, she wasn't Miss Supermodel and her character is flawed. She's tom- boyish, temperamental, often rude, stubborn, hot-tempered, aggressive, and violent. Mitsui scowled as he recalled how she had hit him with her shoe. But she was also generous, loyal, and at times sensitive too. She'll most probably never be a beauty but there are just times he just wants to grab her and kiss her lights out! And not to mention she looks really cute when she scowls at him.  
  
He just loves arguing with her, even though he knows she has got a point. To him, it was fun and a great way to blow of steam (Ghost: sweat-drop guys.), since she never seems to remember their little tiffs after a while. So there were no hard feelings between them.  
  
And she is probably the only girl that likes him for who he is, not his basketball skills, his money, or anything else. But she is just wants to be friend because she enjoys his company.  
  
Ok, it's confirmed, Mitsui groaned softly at the thought. I'm really in love with her. But not like I'm going to admit it or anything. (Ghost: Coward!) He grinned to himself. He could just picture her expression if he did confess his feelings towards her. She'll probably look at him and faint.  
  
"Faint?" Mitsui muttered to himself, laughing at the thought. For a girl that thinks of hitting her attacker if she gets attacked will most probably won't faint at a mere love confession.  
  
He wondered when he actually fell for her. Actually, he thinks that he had started liking her the instant he opened the class door on the first day of school after vacation to see her deliver a long list of rather lame excuses for being late to an absent teacher. He thought he disliked her after the little incident of her punching his team mate.  
  
But he had gradually forgiven her. For one, if Hanamichi could forgive her and actually respect her, she was something. Second, she did dutifully hand him his list of work and notes to copy when he missed his classes for practices. If not, he would most probably have failed his examinations and get kicked out of the team.  
  
Mitsui sighed resignedly. He had always thought that the girl he will love would be gentle, soft-spoken, pretty, and if possible, with a body of a goddess. And he had fallen in love with one that is the complete opposite. How ironic can the world get? Akane was the type of person that you can be a buddy with, not a lover. She doesn't need to be protected, people needs to be protected from her!  
  
And most ironic of all things, he is starting to love her just the way she is. The way her hair gets messed up after practice, the way her eyes sparkle when she laughs, the way she stamps her feet when she gets mad. He just wants her for the way she is, simply because she can accept him the way for who he is.  
  
Mitsui shook his head. His thoughts and emotions were in one huge jumble now. He can't really think clearly where Katsura Akane was concern. There were times he just wants to hold her in his times and also other times when he can cheerfully strangle her.  
  
His train of thought was broken by Miyagi's shouting on the other side of the door. "Mitchy, are you in there? Have you drowned or something?" Miyagi yelled.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming!" Mitsui called back. My musings will just have to wait later, he thought as he wrapped the fluffy white towel around his waist. (Ghost: I still can't stop nose bleeding. Stuffs extra tissues into her nostrils.)  
  
"What is it?" he asked, annoyed as he opened the door and walked out of the shower stall.  
  
There was an evil gleam in Miyagi's eyes as he placed an arm on Mitsui's back. "You see, we've been noticing that…"  
  
***  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own SD.  
  
Orororo, what evil scheme has our new captain planned?  
  
I must say, this is an exceptionally long chapter.  
  
Reviews!!! REVIEWS!!!!! You guys are so bad. Come on…I'm in desperate need of some encouragement here!  
  
Ghostwriter  
  
4 May 2002 


	16. Part 15

Pride and Prejudice – Part 15  
  
By: Ghostwriter  
  
----------{@  
  
"Cheers!" "We're the strongest!"  
  
Everyone raised their cups to the toast and drank.  
  
They were at Danny's, celebrating their win against Shoyo. That'll put them up against Kainan in the final round to determine the Kanagawa representative to the Winter Championships. In just another five days. Five more days till they get another chance to prove themselves at the national championships.  
  
They used soft drinks, juice, and tea to substitute for alcohol, since almost of all them were under-aged.  
  
Of course, Anzai-sensai prefers his green tea to alcohol. Mitsui was sorely tempted to get some beer. He could have gotten it if he wanted it – he possessed a fake ID. After all, his thoughts were in a jumble and he would rather not think at all. But he caught Akane frowning at him, so he stopped himself. He can swear that the girl can read his mind.  
  
His face broke into an evil grin when he remembered how he had utilized the fake ID that lay in his wallet for the past few months. Heck, he had been living like a saint!  
  
*****FLASHBACK*****  
  
Mitsui excused himself from the table and walked in the direction of the washroom. As soon as he was out of sight, he walked round the bar and went up to the bartender.  
  
"One glass of Irish Bailey please," he said in a clipped authorative tone. "And please send it to table 29."  
  
The bartender looked at Mitsui dubiously. Sighing audibly, Mitsui flashed his fake ID for him to see. He then nodded and asked, "Milk?"  
  
Mitsui grinned devilishly, "No, serve em plain."  
  
*******************  
  
"Your drink, sir," the waitress said, smiling warmly at him as she sat the glass down.  
  
"Thanks," Mitsui said as the waitress walked away. He picked up the glass of brown liquid and raised it to his lips. Perhaps he can still fortify himself some alcohol.  
  
"Mitchy, what are you drinking?" Hanamichi asked curiously.  
  
"Something good," Mitsui said coolly. He resisted the urge to bang the red head's head for calling him Mitchy. But then again, it wouldn't have done much good would it? That boy has a head of steel!  
  
"Are you saying Tensai can't handle some drink?" Hanamichi's exclaimed as his warm brown eyes widened in anger. "Give me that!" he shouted rudely as he grabbed the glass from Mitsui's hands. In a single flourish, he gulped them down.  
  
"Hmmm…it tastes good," he exclaimed. He signaled at the waitress, "Give me another one!"  
  
The waitress looked expectantly at Mitsui and he gave her a discreet nod. She then went off to get them another glass.  
  
[Ten Minutes Later}  
  
Hanamichi had not drunk two glasses or even three.  
  
He had drained four undiluted glasses of Irish Bailey.  
  
It was enough to knock anyone down.  
  
"Nyahaha – Tensai Sakuragi!" Hanamichi laughed and swayed maniacally. He rubbed his eyes when he looked at Rukawa and pointed, "Nani? Why are there so many kitsunes?" He walked towards Rukawa, but tripped over a chair leg.  
  
Rukawa's arm shot out and steadied him as the red head fell neatly into his lap. In fact, he was sort of cradling him. "Do'aho."  
  
"Teme Kitsune!" Hanamichi hollered, shaking his head to clear himself. He was experiencing double vision and he can't even look straight. "Don't you," he hiccupped, "dare *hic* call tensai *hic* a' *hic* hou."  
  
Akane looked worriedly across the table at the red head. He was actually leaning against that icicle! The Hanamichi she knew would rather die than accept assistance from Rukawa. In fact, he doesn't seem to be clear-headed at all. Not that he was clear-headed at other times, but not to this extent. Maybe he will throw a few head butts around when his anger clouded his common sense – but this?  
  
In fact, Hanamichi looked as though he has been foxed (gotten drunk).  
  
Akane looked at Mitsui and Miyagi, who were exchanging sly and knowing looks across the table. Realization struck her.  
  
'Mitchy no baka,' she said under her breath to Mitsui who was sitting next to her. "What the hell did you let him drink just now?"  
  
Of course, Mitsui assumed the most innocent expression he was capable of. Inwardly, he grinned maniacally as he watched the red head struggle to his feet. He knew that Hanamichi couldn't hold his drink that well.  
  
And Mitsui had experiences with people who can't hold his drink. He himself once blabbed out about a crush he had on a girl after his cousins tricked him into 'tasting' a little of their grandfather's whisky.  
  
He had a nasty headache the next morning and everything looked yellow.  
  
But then again, he needed a little fun, a good laugh to take his mind of things. Especially if it was at Sakuragi Hanamichi's expense. Who knows what the red head will reveal, Mitsui thought slyly. Something interesting, no doubt, he thought as he recalled his earlier conversation with Miyagi.  
  
"You better wipe that sly look of your face," Akane muttered as she casually leaned over under the pretense of taking the ketchup. Mitsui caught a whiff of the scent of the shampoo she used – lemon. (Ghost: Hnnn…LEMON) "You look like an evil schemer the way you look at the baka ninjin atama, which in a way, you are," she said, referring to her remark about him being an evil schemer.  
  
"Do you know what other evil schemes I have in my head?" Mitsui asked huskily.  
  
"I'll rather not know an eighteen year old guy's perverted fantasies," Akane replied shortly.  
  
"It depends who the fantasies are on," he countered in the same seductive tone of voice. He watched gleefully as Akane flushed a pretty shade of red. He probably shouldn't have done that but the idea was just irresistible.  
  
All the people at in the small diner automatically covered their ears when Hanamichi started his horrendous rendition of his 'Ore Wa Tensai' song – from Rukawa's lap. It was dreadfully out of tune and Hanamichi's voice just wasn't meant to sing at such high decibels. It sounded more like a wild cat screeching.  
  
"Do'aho," Rukawa grunted, grabbing a handful of napkins and shoved it into Hanamichi's mouth successfully gagging him. "I'm taking you home."  
  
The red head struggled but Rukawa carefully manipulated him and steered him out of the diner. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
Something funny occurred to Yohei, who was sitting with Haruko. "Since when does Rukawa care so much about Hanamichi?"  
  
The all looked at one another, "Masaka... (Can it be…)?"  
  
Mitsui and Miyagi exchanged grins.  
  
***  
  
"I cannot believe you spike that baka's drink," Akane said as they stepped diner. "You guys are all evil schemers, every one of you," she said heatedly as she jabbed her finger into his chest. "They leave me to settle the bill, and poof – they just disappear."  
  
"Hey, leave me out of this – I went with you to settle the bill, remember?" Mitsui reminded her. "Anyway, I paid."  
  
"I offered to share the bill," Akane argued.  
  
"We can't very well take out our credit cards and break them into two, hand them to the cashier and tell her to bill it!" Mitsui retorted. When Akane and Mitsui went to get the bill from the counter, Akane practically fainted at the bill. From the total they were supposed to pay stated on the bill, it was either they had just gotten fleeced, or they just fed an army.  
  
But with Sakuragi Hanamichi eating with them, it was a good thing that they only had to pay for one army. The boy alone eats the amount of two armies!  
  
When they went back to tell the other members to pitch in, they had mysteriously disappeared.  
  
Both Akane and Mitsui found out that none of them brought enough money to foot the bill. Without giving Akane a chance to do anything, Mitsui had handed the cashier his credit card.  
  
"Anyway, no gentleman lets a lady pay for her meal," Mitsui said as they continued to walk down the street.  
  
"Tell me, since are you a gentleman? And even if you're a gentleman, you should know I'm no lady!" Akane said. She was certainly in a most argumentative mood. "And…" she stopped and her entire face scrunched up as she sneezed violently. "And for some demented reason, they took my coat with them!" she said as she rubbed her nose.  
  
Her face was red from the late autumm wind but her eyes were bright. Mitsui looked at her face intently before unbuttoning his long coat. He slipped his right arm out of its sleeve.  
  
"What are you doing?" Akane asked curiously as she watched him do it. "Aaaah-Choo!" she sneezed again.  
  
"Making sure you're not going to freeze to death," Mitsui said wryly as he pulled Akane to his side and placed half the coat over her.  
  
Akane felt warmth seep into her rather cold face. "You can give me the whole coat," she muttered. They were pressed intimately by the side because the coat just wasn't made for two people to share. Too rather large people in fact.  
  
"I don't intend to freeze to death either," Mitsui replied. "I want to play in the game against Kainan. It'll be my last game during high school." There was a hint of sadness and regret in his voice.  
  
"Since when do you care whether an obake like me freeze or not," Akane mumbled. "Won't you be happier?"  
  
"Aww, you know that I'm your friend," Mitsui said, pretending to be slightly hurt. "Anyway, to answer your question, I care since I know that," he paused for a while, before he decided, "I know we'll be dissecting a rat in biology class next Tuesday." His eyes were twinkling mischievously.  
  
"Baka," Akane said as she punched him lightly on the chest. She yawned as she placed her head on his shoulder, "I'm tired."  
  
Mitsui relished the physical contact they shared at the moment. His right arm held her close to his side and her head rested on his shoulder as they walked towards her apartment. A part of him never wants this walk to end.  
  
Akane looked at the sky. She had never felt so safe in a long time. With his arm around her, holding her close, it was as though he is ready to protect her against anything that might happen. She closed her eyes briefly and made a wish to the stars. I wish that I'll never lose this feeling, she thought. The stars winked back at her.  
  
The two people sharing one coat walked beneath the pale moonlight in silence, content with each others company.  
  
A light drizzle fell but the (soon to be) couple continued their slow walk. Neither of them wished it end so soon.  
  
***  
  
"How did it go?" Ayako asked, twirling the telephone cord with her fingers as she leaned back into the cushions.  
  
"As smooth as though the whole thing has been oiled," Miyagi's voice came from the other end.  
  
"Aha! I knew it!" Ayako said happily.  
  
"You did not see how Mitchy reacted to my suggestion of spiking Hanamichi's drink," Miyagi said merrily, "Priceless!"  
  
"And did you all evacuate Danny's immediately after you sent the pair away?" Ayako demanded.  
  
"Yeah. Thank goodness Anzai-sensai had left earlier," Miyagi replied. "The others thought it was a bit weird when I picked up Katsura-senpai's coat and told them to go. But I guess the threat of 200 push ups tomorrow were enough to stifle whatever curiosity they had about the matter."  
  
"Good," Ayako said in a satisfied tone of voice. "Whatever happens now is up to Rukawa and Mitsui-senpai. It'll be some time before we can put plan B into action."  
  
"Ano – Aya-chan, how many plans do you have?" Mitsui asked.  
  
"Well, enough plans to make sure they get together," Ayako said as she shifted slightly on the couch. One whole week in hospital with only the TV for company during the day for over a week was excruciating boredom. More than enough time to allow her to rack up all sorts of matchmaking plans.  
  
"Don't you think they'll get mad?"  
  
"Nah, they'll thank us for it later."  
  
Miyagi yawned widely. Ayako heard him over the phone and said, "You must be tired after the game today. Maybe you should go to bed. Oyasumi – Ryo- chan," she blushed at the honorific.  
  
Miyagi's eyes instantly snapped wide open at how Ayako called him. "Oyasumi Aya-chan," he practically shouted into the receiver.  
  
Ayako replaced the receiver back onto its hook as she blushed slightly. She had never called him by such close terms before. She stood up and rearranged the cushions before heading off to her room, humming softly.  
  
As for Miyagi, he suddenly felt so energetic, he started jumping all around. (Ghost: Sweat-drop  
  
"This calls for a game of basketball!"  
  
***  
  
Akane twirled her spoon absent mindedly around the mug of chocolate in the kitchen. She glanced towards the living room where Mitsui was.  
  
The light drizzle had turned into a full fledge storm right after they reached her apartment. She couldn't possibly just turn him out into the raging storm. So she invited him in.  
  
For once, Akane wished she had kept her apartment in a better state.  
  
Mitsui looked around the spacious living room from his place on the white couch. It was done up in warm tones. There was a digital piano and electronic organ side by side in the corner. A few Chinese calligraphy scrolls hung on the walls and there was a low coffee table. The apartment was incredibly modern.  
  
But it was impossibly messy as well.  
  
There was loads of manuscript paper with musical notes scribbled all over them as well as diskettes. Mitsui picked up one of them with the title 'Carpe Diem' hastily scribbled on and began to read the melody. It sounded vaguely familiar like the song she played on the day they first met. He walked over to the piano, switched it on and began playing.  
  
"Ah!" Akane cried as the knife she held made contact with her flesh, resulting some a wound in her finger. She was somewhat startled when she heard someone playing her composition. But too late – the blade had already cut into her finger.  
  
Mitsui hurried into the kitchen after hearing Akane's surprised cry. He walked in to find her suckling her finger as she fumbled, as though looking for something in one of the drawers.  
  
"What happened?" he asked as he stalked in. "Let me see that," he demanded as he tug at her hand.  
  
"It's nothing," Akane mumbled. Mitsui remained silent as he searched the drawer and took out a strip of plaster from the messy drawer she had been going through just a moment ago. Akane offered no resistance as he took he washed her finger under the running water and used a piece of paper towel to dry the wound.  
  
Akane kept talking to diminish the tensed silence between them. "I was just surprised that you could play the piano and…" she continued. Having him so close was unbearable.  
  
"There are a lot of things you don't know about me, Akane," Mitsui replied as he applied the bandage neatly on the wound. Akane stopped voicing her incoherent thoughts as he lifted his blue eyes and looked into hers. "And would you care to find out?"  
  
Blue and green were locked together for a moment that seemed to last for an eternity.  
  
"Yes," she answered breathlessly, uncertain of her own mind.  
  
Mitsui smiled as he lowered his face. Akane could feel her heart thundering with each beat as she turned her face upwards expectantly.  
  
Everything exploded the instant his lips met hers.  
  
***  
  
Standard Disclaimers Apply.  
  
Akane: BAKA GHOSTWRITER! I can't believe you made us kiss!  
  
Ghostlie: Well…err… we… err…  
  
Akane: And you left me hanging there kissing with him! How long am I supposed to kiss him?!  
  
Ghostlie: Until you write the next the chapter?  
  
Akane: NANI?! Ghostwriter-san …  
  
Ghostlie: Uh-oh…ok…gotta run…Ja!  
  
[Disappears just as Akane took out a charm written on yellow paper. (You know those that they use on evil spirits.)]  
  
Thanks to all those who reviewed and do send those reviews coming in!!!  
  
Ghostwriter  
  
9 May 2002 


	17. Part 16

Pride and Prejudice - Part 16 By: Ghostwriter ----------{@  
  
Standard Disclaimers Apply.  
  
You know, I'm purposely postponing the inevitable. I want to leave you hanging there. So I'm doing my Author Note here.I'm evil.lol.  
  
I'm glad that everyone that reads it enjoys it so far. In fact, I'm having the time of my life writing it. But I can't decide whether to make it a long of short fic. So review me or mail me to tell me.or else I'm not going to carry on.  
  
Thanks to everyone who mailed and reviewed me. I know I don't answer reviews most of the time but that is because I'm always in a hurry to post up the chapters I don't have time to include the answers. Sunimasen!  
  
And please do continue to read and review my story.  
  
Happy to say - True Beauty: Pride and Prejudice is going to end soon.  
  
Anyway.I have a funny feeling no one reads my author note.  
  
*** [Saturday]  
  
I've died and gone to heaven, Akane thought hazily as they stood there. His lips were caressing hers in a way that can make her melt like a pound of butter.  
  
Mitsui continued to kiss her as he his fingers threaded through her dark hair. It was soft - just like her lips. His fingers left the silky tresses alone as they felt their way down her back. He slipped them under her sweater.  
  
Akane automatically broke the kiss the minute his bare hands made contact with her skin. Again, it was more of shock than anything else. Suddenly, embarrassment seemed to have settled in between them as they turned their backs to each other.  
  
Baka Hisashi, Mitsui cursed himself silently. She isn't an easy lay you know.  
  
It's just a dream, it's just a dream, Akane mentally chanted. Mitsui Hisashi and I did not just kiss. It's just a dream, and it's time to wake up. I know - pain should do it, she thought frantically as she dealt a resounding slap on her right cheek.  
  
"Itai!"  
  
Mitsui instantly turned around and reached for her. "Daijoubu ka? (Are you alright?)" he asked her tentatively as he touched her reddened cheek.  
  
"Kami-sama (God), it's not a dream," she shrieked out loud. "Kami, we just kissed.you and me! Kami! We must have been poss." her words died on her lips when he kissed her again. Her brain became sluggish and refused to heed her commands.  
  
"Akane, it's not a dream," Mitsui said flatly after they broke off the kiss. He had her in his arms, with her cheek pressed against his shoulder. She could feel his heartbeat from her position. "I can bet with you that my kisses aren't as good as this in your dreams."  
  
"I know," came her muffled reply. "That's why it's frightening."  
  
"What's so frightening about kissing me?" Mitsui demanded.  
  
"I have dreamt of us kissing," Akane admitted hesitantly. She raised her eyes to meet his, "And I know dreams don't come true. Not dreams like this anyway."  
  
Mitsui chuckled softly at her admission. "So I just realized one of your dreams."  
  
Akane disentangled herself from his embrace and took a step back. "We should just pretend everything never happened and get on with our lives. You lost control and kissed me because of the alcohol in your blood."  
  
"How did you know I drank beer?" Mitsui asked, genuinely surprised.  
  
"Because your breath positively reeks of alcohol," she replied absent mindedly. "Anyway.I think it will be for the best."  
  
"Chotto matte! (Wait a minute!)" Mitsui said as he held out his hands and a gesture for her to stop. "Why don't you just accept the face we're attracted to each other? I kissed you because I wanted to.and."  
  
". and look, it has stopped raining! You should go now.Sleep and forget all about it in the morning.and we will be back to good old Mitchy and obake ne?" she said as she pushed him towards the door.  
  
"Matte!" Mitsui practically yelled as he turned around. But Akane can be so stubborn and deaf when she choose to be and now was one of those times. "Oyasumi nasai!" she said cheerily as she pushed over the threshold and threw his shoes out as well before slamming the door in his face.  
  
"My coat!" Mitsui cried as he pounded at the door. The door opened and his coat flew into his face before the slamming of the door was heard again. He stood there for a minute before slipping into his shoes and put on his coat and walked off towards the elevator.  
  
Akane was putting all her weight against the door, fearing he might decide to force it down in his attempt to make his points clear. Personally she thinks that he must have drunk a six pack or something to have kissed her and hugged her. Her spine tingled deliciously when she remembered how it felt. No surprised that her cheeks were as red as Hanamichi's hair.  
  
And the phone rang.  
  
Akane raced across the room towards the phone and picked it up, "Moshi-moshi!"  
  
"Kane-chan! Where have you been?" Yumiko's voice came from the other end.  
  
"I err - just came back."  
  
"So, they won, huh. I'm sure Mitsui-kun was very happy."  
  
"Yeah, he is," Akane replied, collapsing onto the sofa. She couldn't help blushing slightly at the mention of Mitsui's name.  
  
"You should have seen Hamada Chieko," Yumiko giggled slightly.  
  
"What about her?" Akane asked tiredly. She couldn't care less even if that witch danced naked in front of the entire school. No - she'll take pictures for and publish them on the net. Too bad TRIO doesn't accept obscene pictures.  
  
"She practically exploded with fury when she saw Mitsui-kun get all chummy with you," Yumiko giggled again.  
  
"You're kidding me," Akane immediately sat upright. "Why would she be angry?"  
  
"Don't you know?" Yumiko feigned shock, "Hamada Chieko has been hitting on Mitsui-kun since Mitsui-kun rejoined the basketball team last spring. The basketball team became pretty famous after the IH tournament."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"But Mitsui-kun doesn't seem to know she exists," Yumiko continued.  
  
"Wait - how come I don't notice anything about this? I mean I am in the same class after all," Akane asked cautiously.  
  
"Well. Mitsui-kun hasn't been in for most of the lessons due to practices. Anyway, you two are always so busy biting at each other I don't think you'll notice even if the sky falls down."  
  
"Yeah, and I nearly bit his tongue into two just now," Akane snapped.  
  
"You what?"  
  
"Ah - nothing!" Akane quickly said. "Hey, I've got to go now. I'm really tired now. See you on Monday. Ja!" She quickly put down the phone before Yumiko could even say another word.  
  
Akane quickly dialed Ayako's number.  
  
"Moshi moshi?"  
  
"Ayako please," Akane said.  
  
"Speaking?"  
  
"Ayako, this is Katsura Akane."  
  
"Akane-chan, daijoubu ka?"  
  
"Hai - but I can't attend tomorrow's practice," Akane explained.  
  
"Doushite? (Why?)" Ayako's voice sounded worried.  
  
"I - My editor just called and she needed me to attend a conference in Tokyo," Akane lied.  
  
"Wakarimashite. (I understand). Have fun," Ayako said cheerily.  
  
"And yeah, one of the guys took my coat. Can you please take it for me?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Arigato. Oyasumi Nasai."  
  
Akane put the phone down gently back. Ok, her editor didn't call her and she isn't going to Tokyo for a conference. In fact she is going to stay holed up in her apartment to avoid that baka.  
  
He didn't tell her that Hamada Chieko had been hitting on him. No guy in their right mind will choose beautiful Hamada Chieko over ugly Katsura Akane.  
  
Hamada Chieko is rich, beautiful, popular and most importantly, she looks good with him.  
  
And a little voice just pops up in her head, unfortunately, she is also a bitch.  
  
Yeah, and she is also irritating and stupid, Akane agreed with that voice.  
  
And you now he hates Hamada Chieko, the voice said again.  
  
"I don't give a damn!" Akane yelled out loud as she jumped onto her feet and went into the shower. Fifteen minutes later, she was climbing into her bed, muttering, "I don't give a damn! I'm going to sleep now and hopefully by the time I wake up, everything will be back to normal. Mitchy no Baka and I never kissed and that Hamada witch can have him if she wants!"  
  
She flipped the switch and the room fell into darkness.  
  
Tick Tock Tick Tock.  
  
Akane's eyelids flew open. The memory of him kissing her kept playing in her head.  
  
"MITCHY NO BAKA! This is your entire fault! ARGH!" she called into the darkness, to no one in particular.  
  
*** [Sunday]  
  
Mitsui trudged into the gym. He couldn't sleep a wink last night. The memory of them kissing kept haunting him. And also how she practically threw him out of the apartment.  
  
We are going to do some talking today, Mitsui thought grimly. And there is no way you can avoid it, Katsura Akane.  
  
"Have you seen Akane?" Mitsui asked as he grabbed Yasuda from behind.  
  
Yasuda stared at him blankly.  
  
"Katsura Akane, you know, the paper fan wielding obake around here," Mitsui clarified impatiently.  
  
"Katsura-sempai can't make it today," a voice came up behind him. Mitsui turned around to find Ayako smiling like a she-devil.  
  
"What happened to her?" Mitsui demanded.  
  
"She had to go to Tokyo on some business."  
  
Mitsui narrowed his eyes at that answer. She didn't mention about going to Tokyo the night before.  
  
Katsura Akane, you better not be trying to avoid me, Mitsui thought.  
  
Meanwhile, it spread like wildfire that Mitsui called Akane by her given name, and not even using a honorific, leaving the entire team wondering over their current state of relationship.  
  
*** Ding Dong Ding Dong Ding Dong.  
  
Akane tip toed to the door and looked through the peephole to find a very grim Mitsui punching the doorbell repeatedly on the other side.  
  
Stop ringing the doorbell! Akane mentally shrieked at him. I'm going to go mad soon! She thought as she ran towards her bed room.  
  
As luck will have it, she tripped over a loose cord that was lying all over the place.  
  
"GYAH!!!" Akane cried, her arms wind milling as she crashed onto the floor.  
  
"AKANE! I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!"  
  
Akane quickly grabbed the phone and punched the auto dial button. "Pick it up, damn it!" she hissed. A click signaled the connection was done.  
  
"Moshi moshi?"  
  
"Security? This is apartment 17-B. There is a raving lunatic outside the door that won't go away. Can you please take care of him?"  
  
"Yes mam! Right away!"  
  
"And don't tell him that it was me who called you!" ***  
  
[Monday]  
  
It had began snowing after the storm - the signal that Winter is making her appearance already. Cheerful chatter was heard from everywhere as students poured in, wearing their winter uniforms.  
  
You can avoid me once, you can avoid me twice, but you can't avoid me forever, Mitsui though angrily. Especially when you sit right beside me.  
  
Mitsui widened his eyes as he stared at the girl sitting in Akane's place.  
  
Brown haired.  
  
Thin.  
  
Smiling seductively at him.  
  
Hamada Chieko.  
  
Mitsui mentally groaned, but he the corners of his mouth lifted when he thought of how Akane would react when she find Hamada in her seat.  
  
Wait a minute, Mitsui thought as he narrowed his eyes and scanned the class. His gaze stopped at Chieko's place.  
  
There she was.  
  
His Akane was there, laughing and acting so close to that geek in glasses.  
  
Somehow, Mitsui felt an uncontrollable urge to just walk over and punch that geek and drag her away.  
  
Maybe I should just do that, he thought as he stormed over towards them.  
  
Akane swallowed nervously as a familiar figure walked briskly in her direction.  
  
***  
  
Akane : Your Akane? Since when am I *your* Akane? Screams as she starts hitting ferociously  
  
Mitsui : Well.who was the one who dreamt of us kissing?  
  
Akane : You pervert! You put your hands under my shirt!  
  
Mitsui : You should feel honored that I'm actually talking to you.  
  
Akane : You're the one who is stalking me like a lunatic!  
  
Mitsui : Well, you're the one who started it! Big Fat Liar! And you were flirting with that geek! Can't you find anyone better? You're staining my reputation!  
  
Akane : Teme Mitchy! At least he is a gentleman!  
  
Mitsui : Oh yeah? But I can bet with you my kisses are way better.  
  
Akane : Fine! Turns around and storms off yelling I'm going to find out by kissing Tamazaki-kun. Then I'll tell you who is better. Hnn.Maybe we can even learn from each other.  
  
Mitsui : Smirks Talk about the blind leading the blind. Wait a minute! Runs off after her. don't you even dare kiss that freak!  
  
Ghostlie : Sweat drop. There they go again. Fighting like ther is no tomorrow.  
  
[Mitsui and Akane suddenly appears]  
  
Together : And it's your entire fault! Starts to chase Ghostlie all around  
  
Ghostlie : GYAAA!!! 


	18. Part 17

Pride and Prejudice - Part 17 By: Ghostwriter ----------{@  
  
Standard Disclaimers Apply.  
  
Ahh. I'm back! I'm very happy to present you with Part 17.  
  
Just a short reminder: This is an anime based fan fiction and it can get highly unbelievable at times.  
  
But then again, that is why we love anime ne?  
  
*** [It's still Monday]  
  
"Ohayo gozaimazu, Mitusi-san," Akane greeted him formally, trying to ignore the frantic thumping in her chest.  
  
What happened to good ol' Mitchy? Mitsui thought.  
  
"Ohayo Katsura-san. If my memory serves me correct, your place is there," Mitsui said, pointing at their tables. With me, he added silently.  
  
"My specs broke and I need to sit in front to see the board clearly," Akane quickly put in. Another lie. She is getting good at this.  
  
"Ano - Katsura san, I just saw you wearing them this morning," Tamazaki unwittingly blurted out. Mitsui turned expectantly at Akane, as if demanding an explanation.  
  
Akane could have cheerfully murdered him right there and then. "Aa - that was before I tripped broke them." Another one for Katsura Akane!  
  
"Let me see it, maybe I can fix it," Mitsui persisted.  
  
Akane reluctantly opened her bag and rummaged around. Hesitating a moment, she closed her eyes and twisted the fragile frame before withdrawing them out of the bag and hanging it back to Mitsui. There goes my paycheck for another pair, she thought miserably. It doesn't pay to lie.  
  
Mitsui took them and studied them. There wasn't even a scratch on the lenses but the frame was another story. It was horribly mangled.  
  
"Beats me how it could have ended up this way," he said as he handed them back to her.  
  
"I tripped and they fell.and Rukawa came and ran them over with his bike," Akane quickly improvised.  
  
"Honto ni? (Really?) I must ask him how he did it without cracking the lenses whilst creating such a creative design," Mitsui replied sardonically.  
  
"Iie (no), you know Rukawa, he probably can't remember it," Akane said.  
  
"True, maybe Tamazaki-san and I should exchange places. I believe your partner is over there," Mitsui looked at Tamazaki, the unvoiced threat evident in his voice.  
  
"Iie! (No!) I need Tamazaki-kun something about the bio paper we took last week," Akane lied, again.  
  
"Ano - Katsura-san, you did very well for your paper," Tamazaki interjected.  
  
"Urusei," Akane hissed at him. Tamazaki is so dense and has this knack for saying the right things at the wrong time.  
  
"I can help you," Mitsui volunteered.  
  
"Ano - Mitsui-kun, but I think you failed that paper." She was mentally smirking but her voice was downright polite. Mitsui flushed up when he remembered his score.  
  
To Akane's utmost relief, Anami-sensai walked in right then. Mitsui had no choice but to hurry to his place.  
  
Throughout the lesson, Mitsui kept glancing across the class at the 'couple'. Hamada Chieko kept whispering things in low seductive tones to him, but of course went unheeded.  
  
And the 'couple' kept laughing together as the lesson wore on.  
  
I should never have kissed her there and then, Mitsui thought angrily as he continued to watch them. I should have tied her to a chair, kiss her and then make her listen to me.  
  
"Hisashi, are you listening to me?" the highly irritating voice of Hamada Chieko penetrated his thoughts.  
  
"Don't ever call me by my given name," he replied crossly to her, his eyes never leaving Akane.  
  
It's that fatso again, Chieko thought angrily. Katsura Akane, you just wait. I'm going to make you pay!  
  
*** Akane rose to leave as soon as the bell rung for lunch.  
  
Mitsui of course quickly followed her.  
  
Calm down, Akane, she thought hysterically. How can I calm down? I'm not ready to confront him! She stole a look over her shoulder to see his tall form turning round the corner. But he is so determined to talk about it.  
  
Ok, lesson 1 on how to lose a stalker by Dr. K. Go to a public place and lose yourself in the crowd. Yes, the cafeteria! Akane thought as she sped towards the noisy cafeteria. She quickly grabbed a tray and piled some food on it, handed the elderly lady some money and hurried away.  
  
Damn, where is she? Mitsui cursed as he scanned the heads bobbing up and down in his line of version. Being a basketball player, he was taller than the rest of the crowd. He could see Sakuragi's red mop of hair, standing out in the sea of black. He made his way towards the basketball team's table.  
  
"Oi, Sakuragi, have you seen Akane?" he demanded.  
  
"No, why?" the dense red head asked.  
  
"No, sensai needs to see us to arrange for a time to retake a quiz. He needs to see us now, so can you like."  
  
Before Mitsui can finish his sentence, Hanamichi had already stood up and hollered at the cafeteria, "Has anyone seen Katsura Akane, the big fat Godzilla around?"  
  
Mitsui covered his eyes with his hand, certain that every pair of eyes in the entire cafeteria was on them now. "I was thinking more a long of the lines of asking the gundam to look for her," he told him, whilst trying to ignore the throbbing vein in his forehead. He scanned the room and saw a familiar figure sneaking towards the nearest exit.  
  
"Stop her!" Mitsui yelled, ignoring the stunned looks that were directed at his direction.  
  
Oh, this is so mortifying! How could they do this to me? I can die embarrassment! Akane thought, her face red from humiliation as she headed for the nearest exit quietly. She gasped when she heard Mitsui shout and without even stopping to think, she ran blindly towards the doors with the word 'exit' in green on top of it.  
  
SMACK!  
  
I think I ran into someone, Akane thought dizzily . A bowl of ramen sailed through the air from someone's tray.  
  
I think I ran into someone, Akane thought dizzily  
  
And landed on Kawamura Junzo's head.  
  
Kawamura Junzo - the 190 cm tall rugby player that's positively bursting with muscles. Kawamura Junzo - the one known with his bad temper and unreasonable personality. The same Kawamura Junzo was standing in front of half the student body with an upturned plastic bowl on his head and noodles entangled in his hair.  
  
Least to say, he was not at all happy.  
  
Akane scuttled out of the way as Kawamura grabbed the unfortunate guy whose tray was where the bowl of ramen originated from, by the shirt fronts.  
  
"You threw it at me?" Kawamura growled. "You were the one that threw that bowl of soup at me?" he said as he lifted the guy one foot into the air.  
  
"I can explain!" the scrawny guy cried in fright. "It was an accident."  
  
"I say it's not an accident," Kawamura said as he grabbed something off a nearby plate and smashed it into the poor boy's face. Akane winced at the sight. "This is to teach you never to crow me.again."  
  
"Hey, how dare you just take my food like that, you block head!"  
  
Akane turned around, to see a very handsome guy stand up and shout at Kawamura. She recognize him immediately - Irie Kaoru, an extremely handsome, rich and arrogant guy. With no brains at all, she added mentally.  
  
"I do as I please," Kawamura yelled back rudely.  
  
"Oh yeah?" Irie challenged as he grabbed a rice ball from his plate and threw it straight at Kawamura. Kawamura dodged and flew right across the cafeteria.  
  
and this time, it landed on Hamada Chieko's hair.  
  
"My hair!" Chieko shrieked. "Why you, as*h*le!" she cried as she grabbed the remnants of rice ball from her hair and threw it at Irie.  
  
And let's just say that she didn't have a very good aim.  
  
"Food fight!" somebody called.  
  
Soon everyone was busy throwing food across the cafeteria. Takamiya immediately whipped out a small camera and snapped pictures of the elite students, looking at their worst. "Boy, this is going to make me rich!" he said gleefully as he snapped away.  
  
Through the chaos, Mitsui spied someone resembling the girl he was after crawling towards the doors.  
  
"Oh no, you don't!" Mitsui cried as he climbed onto the table and ran across the canteen. No doubt, he was hit by many a flying food missile, but at that point, he didn't really care.  
  
Akane groaned when she heard his voice over the din of shouts and war cries. She got to her feet and ran out of the war zone and sped down the corridor, with Mitsui right at her heels.  
  
She turned to the right and was confronted by two doors. She stood in front of the two, and debated which one to take.  
  
"Oh, what the heck!" she cried as she ran through the door leading to the right.  
  
Seconds later, Mitsui whizzed past that door, without giving it a second glance.  
  
***  
  
Akane: GYAAA!!! takes out a real katana and waves it at Ghostlie  
  
Ghostlie: swallows Careful now.Backs away  
  
Akane: I can kill you! Just because you created me doesn't mean you can make a fool out of me!  
  
Mitsui: Yeah! And you didn't even create me!!! Look at me! I reek of leftovers!  
  
Ghostlie: ^^;; 


	19. Author's Note

As some of you might have noticed, I've not been updating my stories very regularly. I'm very sorry to say that I'll have to take a break from serious writing until October. I may update a chapter in a few weeks, but I can offer no commitment to my stories until October.  
  
Besides having a major writer's block, I'm also swamped with work from all sides, including school and other commitments. I'm also in need of some serious studying for my finals. If I don't pass my finals, my mom will honestly kill me. Well, maybe not that bad, but I'll be banned from the net.  
  
I thank you all for the support you've shown me so far and I hope you all will continue to support me. (As in giving me more reviews.=P) I'm sorry for inconveniencing you.  
  
But don't worry; I'll finish all my stories. I'll finish all my fan fictions as soon as I finish my studies. I write fast without pressure, but for now, I'm so tensed I shrieked when my friend accidentally bumped into me! ^^;;  
  
I wish you all the best of luck. Happy holidays to those that are having their summer vacation.  
  
Love, Ghostwriter. 


	20. Part 18

**Pride and Prejudice – Part 18**

**By: Ghostwriter**

**----------{@**

_Standard Disclaimers Apply._

_[_23 February 2003___ _8:34:11 PM___]_

_First, I must thank all my readers for bearing with lazy old me. I know I've been totally horrible, starting fics everywhere but never really finishing them. Never fear, all your encouraging reviews, and yes even the not so encouraging ones have made me get a move on._

_I don't think I'll continue rewriting, coz I really want to finish this off. No point leaving everything undone._

_This is a chapter to show appreciation to all my readers out there that did not give up hope of me updating again. Thank you for your unwavering faith to those that still read and will review._

***

_Where the heck is she? Mitsui cursed silently as he tore down the halls in relentless pursuit of the one that got away._

***

**Mitsui: You IDIOT GHOST! SHE DID NOT GET AWAY…calms down a bit I just lost track of her…temporarily.**

**Ghostwriter: Uh…yeah…-.-''**

***

"Mitsui-san," a voice choking with forced pleasure called out, "What a pleasant surprise." 

Mitsui groaned in agony. Of all people to bump into, it had to be him.

Vice-principal Miyamoto. That man has blamed Mitsui for the downfall of the basketball team. He blamed Mitsui for getting injured and thus jeopardized the school's chances of winning any tournaments. Sometimes, Mitsui believed that Miyamoto thinks he purposely got injured just to spite him.

"I'm sure that you do know by now that it's forbidden to run in the halls. After all, you've spent three years in the school," Miyamoto continued, his eyes twinkling with sadistic amusement.

The tall sharpshooter eyed the paunchy, balding middle aged man that only came up to his shoulder warily.

"Of course, you spent more time out of it than you were actually in it," Miyamoto quipped, "and I'm sure you've made it your sacred duty to break every school rule that was ever made."

"I'm sorry, sensei. I forgot," Mitsui apologized with a low bow. In his heart, he was screaming profanities at the man who took gratification in handing out detention. But now was not the time to bother about petty matters. He was on a mission and a man must do whatever he must to succeed it.

"I see, memory problems," Miyamoto said sympathetically. "Practically the entire student body has them. They forget their homework, their gym kit, the school rules and etc. And do you know what the best medicine is for it?"

"No, sensei," Mitsui replied humbly.

"A healthy dose of detention, that's what," Miyamoto replied with such cheerfulness that it was all Mitsui can do not to strangle him on the spot. The (in Mitsui's opinion) villainous vice principle took out the dreaded pink colored pad along with his pen and scribbled something on it before tearing the page off and handing it to him. He already knew what it was.

The Detention Slip.

Mitsui glanced at the time as the man departed and started to protest, "Sensei! We have to prepare for tournament…"

Miyamoto turned back and wagged a finger in Mitsui's face. "I'm sure you're good enough already. After all, this is the MVP, Mitsui Hisashi. But even if this MVP breaks down, we still have Rukawa-kun, don't we?" he hissed at him.

Mitsui kept quiet as the man added as he walked off, "Remember to come with your partner. I'm sure she'll just be so pleased." Vicious laughter filled the hallway has he walked away.

Akane, Mitsui suddenly remembered and groaned. She wasn't going to be pleased at all, to get detention with him again.

But looking from the bright side, at least she can't disappear anymore and he'll get to talk to her.

Maybe this wasn't so bad after all.

***

Akane took a deep breath through her mouth and held it, trying to avoid smelling the foul stench of a typical public toilet.

We pay them so many thousands of yen a year for the school's upkeep and the toilet still stinks this much! She grumbled inwardly. It's all Mitsui Hisashi's fault! If it wasn't him, I won't be hiding here! She scowled heavily as perched precariously on the toilet bowl. 

Being alone in a foul-smelling toilet isn't anyone's favorite way to spend their lunch period. Akane fumed every time she thought of Mitsui Hisashi. A slow smile crept onto her face as she remembered how aghast he looked when Hanamichi made that announcement.

And when the memory of him kissing her flooded through her mind, she couldn't help but feel the tingles shooting up her spine. It was her first kiss and it had been – magical. Not the perfect setting, but the person had made it memorable and worth while. Akane hugged her knees tightly as she savored every memory she shared with the handsome sharpshooter.

The door outside banged open and a small troop of people marched into the bathroom noisily. The sounds of faucets being turned filled the room and gushes of water followed muffled the voices outside. But nothing could mute the hysterical shrieks beyond the door.

"EWW…there's mashed potato in my hair!"

"My make up is all messed up!"

"I stink of miso soup!"

Akane hurriedly stifled her giggles by clamping her hand over her mouth. They sounded so aghast as if some huge misfortune has just befallen on them and their entire families. But what the girls outside said made her keep quiet and strained to listen to them.

"I can't believe Mitsui-san did that!"

"It's disgraceful, chasing after that fat oaf that way."

"Who does she think she is anyway?"

"Mitsui-san has bad taste. Our Chieko is way better than that Godzilla."

"Only God knows what Mitsui-san is thinking."

"Enough!" 

The anger in Chieko's voice hushed them up at once. They conversed with each other in low tones after that. Akane couldn't hear a word they were saying.

"Hisashi-kun was just playing with her," Chieko's malicious voice filled the almost silent stinking toilet a minute. Only the sounds of dripping water could be heard. Akane's heart skipped a bit as she held her breath, waiting for the girl to continue. 

"He just wants to show the world he can have any girl he wants – including the oh-so-smart Katsura Akane," Chieko continued. "You know – male ego. Something to do with making her love him and breaking her heart… If you don't believe me, I'll be very happy to show you what I mean."

The sounds of the door creaking and diminishing footsteps assured Akane that it was safe to leave her cubicle. On, shaky legs, she opened the door and leaned against it's frame.

_Oh God, had he been playing with me all along? Every caress and the kiss, all those idiotic things he did…_

"No!" Akane shouted – her voice rebounding on the cool tile walls.

_To show the world that he can have any girl he wants… male ego…I'll be happy to show you what I mean…_

Chieko's voice continued to haunt her. Steeling herself, she calmly walked out of the toilet, in the direction of the incessant giggles.

They turned the corner and Chieko caught hold of a first year boy. Smiling sweetly at him, she whispered something into his ear. The adoration in the boy's eyes was plain for all to see before he scuttled off to do whatever she bade him to do.

Chieko then smiled triumphantly before heading towards the exit leading to the gardens.

***

Mitsui hurried down the stairs leading to a secluded pavilion. According to the school rumor mill, it was said that the pavilion was there for a few hundred years and is haunted by a female ghost, waiting for her lover to come. They wanted to demolish it when they started building the school but all the heavy machinery within 100 meters of its radius mysteriously breaks down. After a series of eerie coincidences, they decided to let it be.

And now, it was the prime destination for courting couples to have their secret trysts.

Puzzled, but strangely pleased that Akane had finally given up the futile game of hide-and-seek and conceded to meet him in a secluded place, he walked briskly down the winding path expecting to find her under the quaint shelter and punishing her with a few passionate kisses.

Make that a lot of passionate kisses. 

The bushes behind him rustled slightly and Mitsui turned around joyfully, expecting Akane to emerge and end this awful game of hide and seek. Instead, it was Hamada Chieko.

"What are you doing here?" He demanded.

"Why, Hisashi-kun, weren't you the one who issue me an invitation to meet you here?" Chieko replied innocently as she stepped forward. "I was so happy when I got your message. I was hoping we can…" she let her sentence trailed off as her gaze rove down Mitsui's body appreciatively, "get to know each other better."

Mitsui was not fooled by her imitation of a woman innocent. He watched her guardedly as she sashayed up to him, trailing one manicured fingernail down his winter uniform. Her cheeks were rosy from the cold, but her eyes were shining with something else.

Triumph.

"Since we're here all alone, and I'm sure we're both cold, why don't we try to warm each other up?" she put in suggestively.

Mitsui understood perfectly what she hinted. "If you're feeling cold, allow me to suggest that you return to the school building where it is warmer."

"I would much rather get my heat from you," Chieko murmured huskily as she tipped her face upwards till their faces were only inches apart – their breath mingling with each other. She sealed the gap by placing her lips on his.

Mitsui forced himself not to react when he felt the warm tongue wetting his cracked lips. Her hands began to caress him, sliding down his chest. He caught her wrists before she could go any further.

Chieko released his lips, and smiled as she draped her arms around his neck. "Surely sexual preferences have not changed."

"I'm not kissing you because I don't like you," Mitsui said forcefully.

Chieko laughed. "Since when have you started kissing only the girls you like, Hisashi-kun?" she murmured as she kissed him again. This time, Mitsui resisted her advances completely and tried to extract himself from her embrace by grabbing her by the shoulders and pushing her away. 

He won the battle but lost the war when Chieko suddenly released him and looked victoriously to her left, towards the stairs.

Akane was standing on the top of the stairs, with her hand on the snow covered railing. Her face was pale and she didn't even have her coat on. Realization dawned on her and the shock wore off as she turned around and ran towards the school building.

"Akane, WAIT!" Mitsui shouted as he started towards her, but the clawed hand grabbed his hand and hung onto him.

"Do not even think of going after that oaf!" Chieko hissed at him. "Don' you see, she hates you now."

"You better let me go this instant," Mitsui threatened menacingly, "Or you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

"What' so good about that fat bitch?" Chieko cried. "She's nothing."

"She's a thousand times better than you," Mitsui retorted. "Hurt her in any way again, and I'll make you pay. Now, LET GO!" 

The force in his voice and the fire in his eyes made Chieko release his arm. Without a second glance at the wily female that created all these turmoil, Mitsui ran towards the school building.

***

Mitsui: Won't you just give me a minute to explain?!

Akane: I'm not talking to you.

Mitsui: It's not MY fault she staged it up.

Akane: shrieks YOU ALLOWED HER TO KISS YOU!!! 

Ghostlie: And she said that she wasn't going to talk to him …

Akane and Mitsui: SHUT UP!


	21. Part 19

**Pride and Prejudice – Part 19**

**By: Ghostwriter**

**----------{@**

_Standard Disclaimers Apply._

_[__23 February 2003__21:51:26__]]_

_Just finished Part 18.__ Roaring to go, so I decided to start on Part 19 now. When I will finish it, I have no idea._

_***_

Akane ran blindly, unaware of the surprised attention she was getting. The only place she could think off was the basketball gym. She headed in that direction. Dimly, she could hear him call her name.

Him – Mitsui, the betrayer.

He had kissed Chieko! Passionately! The same way he had kissed her just two days ago!

How could she have ever thought that Mitsui-the-ego-has-just-landed could possibly really be interested in her? How could she have been so stupid? How could she have allowed herself to be hurt this way?

She had followed Chieko and gang out towards the secluded pavilion.

And she had witnessed his ultimate betrayal.

She never thought there can be emotional pain this bad. It was as though he had plunged a dagger into her soul over and over again. He couldn't have hurt her unless she gave him permission to.

And she had. 

"Akane!" His voice grew clearer and stronger. Akane refused to turn around – the sight of him will only intensify the pain she was feeling right now. Blinded by the rivulets of tears that streamed down from her eyes, she tripped over a snow covered log and went sprawling onto the ground in the most undignified manner. She struggled up, but bright lines of fire – physical pain snaked around her ankle when she moved it even a little.

"Are you alright?" Mitsui asked worriedly as he knelt down beside her and tried to reach for her.

"Don't come near me! I'll hurt you," Akane cried as she inched away from him and tried to stand up. She winced in pain and stumbled when her ankle gave way to her weight. Mitsui instinctively caught her.

Akane started shrieking like there was no tomorrow.

"Let go of me you conniving scumbag!"

By now, everyone nearby had already gather curiously around the two of them. And among the crowd were Akagi, Kogure, Hanamichi, Miyagi, Rukawa and Ayako, who were on their way back to the school building from the basketball gym. Hearing the commotion, they forced their way to the front of the crowd.

"I just want to get you to the clinic before you die of pneumonia!" Mistui tried to explain.

"Don't pretend that you care," the familiar stinging began again beneath her eyelids as she blinked the tears away. She was soaked to her skin and shivering from the cold. Of all days to start snowing.

"Katsura!" Hanamichi cried in horror at the sight of the shivering girl. So shocked, he forgot to address her the normal way – with a highly insulting nickname.

Ayako wisely pulled Hanamichi back and continued to observe the ongoing drama.

"I'm not pretending!" Mitsui was having trouble controlling his fury. He swears – someone had just jinxed his day.

"How could you treat me this way? I thought that you were my friend!"

"For your information, I treated you more than friend!" Mitsui shouted. "Can't you see how crazy I am about you? Are you blind?" he continued as he grabbed her by the shoulders and started shaking her.

Akane gazed at his face and replied bleakly, "You lie."  With that, she looked away.

The look on her face – the total hopelessness drained the fight out of Mitsui. "You have to believe me, she staged the whole thing," he pleaded 

Akane remained motionless.

Ayako decided it was time to do something. She nudged Miyagi in the ribs. "Give me your coat, you thick headed male and help me get her to the clinic."

Miyagi shrugged out of his coat and handed it to Ayako. She wrapped it around the motionless Akane and tried to help her up. In the end, Hanamichi couldn't stand the pressured atmosphere anymore and carried Akane away. Mitsui was about to say something, but closed his mouth and stood up. He walked away without a backward glance.

"Mitsui-kun!" Principal Miyamoto accosted him. "May I remind you that you have detention today?"

Mitsui gave him a deadly glare that sent chills down the older man's spine and showed him the one finger salute before walking off.

***

Mitsui took aimed and released the ball. It rebounded off the hoop.

It was turning out to be the most unproductive practice he had in his entire life. Almost ninety five percent of his shots missed.

His teammates weren't helping either. Hanamichi glowered at him the whole afternoon, waves of anger radiating from him, scaring the entire team so much they kept him at least three feet from themselves. Akagi and Kogure had stayed back supervise them today because Ayako had gone off with Akane to the clinic. Kogure would look at him and sigh while the rest of the team looked at him disapprovingly. No one went near him and even Rukawa was giving him frosty looks of disgust.

Even the emotionless fox was disgusted with him. That said a lot.

By the time the dismissal bell rang, the entire school had already known about the supposedly "playing with her heart" scheme and also about Mitsui's passionate encounter with Hamada Chieko. Of course, the source of rumors was the one who set the whole thing up.  Some of them slapped him on the back and congratulating him for picking up the babe of the year where else others walk past him and eyed him with such excruciating distaste. Somehow, almost nobody believes that he really feels for Akane – due to his rather colorful career before he reformed.

Someone tapped him on his shoulder. Mitsui turned.

The tall redhead looked down ominously at him. "You," he jabbed his index finger at Mitsui, "me" he pointed at himself, "one on one," as he pointed at the hoop.

The air around down crackled with unseen tension as the two stared at each other – eyeball to eyeball.

Mitsui was feeling an overwhelming sense of frustration. Naturally, he obliged the hotheaded redhead.

"You're on"

In the next fifteen minutes, the Shohoku team witnessed something they never thought possible in their entire lives.

Hanamichi dunked the ball in so hard, the force knocked Mitsui to the ground. He released he grip on the hood and straddled Mitsui at the waist and raised his fist – ready to strike his senior's face.

Mitsui did not fight back. If fact, he almost welcomed the imminent blow. Maybe physical pain will lessen his guilt. He shut his eyes, and waited.

But it never came.

"Do'aho," Rukawa's icy voice came from above. Mitsui opened his eyes to see Rukawa restraining Hanamichi's fist. "It's not worth warming the bench for some b*st*rd like him."

The memory of their punishment – sitting out of a game – and the promise never to fight again was enough to cool tempers. Slowly, Hanamichi got up and walked away towards the lockers. The crowd around them slowly dispersed and Kogure threw him a sympathetic look over his shoulder before he walked away.

Mitsui got up and walked towards the benches and picked up his duffel bag. Without a word, he left the gym.

"Where do you think he is going, Akagi?"  Kogure asked as Mitsui closed the door.

"Where else?" Akagi replied. 

"Do you believe him? That he didn't really mean to break Akane's heart?"

"I believed he really cared – cares for her," Akagi answered brusquely. "In fact, he cares for her a lot. But in matters such as these, it's better for us third parties not to interfere. It is between the two of them."

***

Ayako cast one last look at the sleeping figure on the bed. She looked so much younger and softer in sleep – less confident and more vulnerable. Akane shifted slightly in her sleep.

He doctor had diagnosed her with a dislocated ankle. But Yumiko, Haruko and her agreed that the pain in her heart hurts her a great deal more. They had escorted her to the clinic and back. Worried about her condition, they decided to sleep over at Akane's apartment. Yumiko had suggested to Akane that she can stay over, but Akane insisted in her coming home.

Ayako had barely closed the door before the doorbell began ringing incessantly.

Yumiko opened the door and glared ominously at the tall boy that filled the doorway.

"I need to speak to A… "Mitsui began

Without waiting for him to finish his sentence, Yumiko had slammed the door in his face, leaving Mitsui to gape at the closed door.

Minutes later, two burly security guards appeared and "showed him the way out."

***

"He's still waiting outside," Ayako said as she lifted the curtain and peered out of the window. Mitsui was standing beside the dim streetlamp in the snow.

She moved to join Ayako at the window but automatically dropped the curtain when he looked upwards at her window, as though he sensed her looking at him. "Tell him to go away. I won't see him."

"Don't you think you should give him a chance to explain?" Ayako asked gently. "Innocent until proven guilty?"

The other girl kept quiet. Ayako continued carefully. "The fact that you're angry at him shows that you care. And the fact that he is standing down there shows that he cares too."

"I don't want to see him."

"By doing that, you're allowing that Hamada Chieko to win," Ayako tried appealing to the older girl's pride.

"If this was a contest and he is the prize, then I don't think I've lost anything valuable. Please go away now. I need my rest."

***

He thought she looked at him from her window. The thought warmed his heart a little. Maybe there is hope after all.

But that little spark of hope extinguished along with the lights from her room, flooding his heart with despair. 

The gate to her apartment complex opened a girl walked towards him. He knew it wasn't her. As the girl drew closer, he successfully identified her as Ayako.

Maybe, just maybe she's willing to see him now? 

The first words out of her mouth effectively put an end to that.

"She won't see you Mitsui-senpai. Maybe you should just go home. She asks you to leave. Maybe you should go home for the night." Ayako said gently.

If he wasn't such a male chauvinist, he would have cried. But knowing Akane, she wouldn't have forgiven him so easily. Her pride wouldn't have allowed her. The evidence against him was damning, indeed. If he had caught her in a passionate embrace of another man, he too would have jumped to the same conclusion.

But if she truly felt, no feels, for he cannot allow himself to think in the past tense and give up hope yet; if she truly feels for him, she will eventually allow him the chance to make amends, wouldn't she?

"No, I think I'll stick around a little while more," he smiled weakly at her.

"I'm sorry that it has come to this," Ayako said sorrowfully, her eyes infinitely sad. "I really hate to see you two hurting so much; hurting yourselves as well as hurting each other."

"Believe me," he whispered as he glanced up at her darkened window again, "Nobody can feel sorrier than I right now."

***

Unknown to them, she was still watching from her window. She saw Ayako talking to him and him looking up at her window. She saw Ayako leaving and him continue to stand in by the streetlight.

He continued to look up at her window, as though he know she was looking at him. Seeing him standing there desolately by the lamplight made her heart ache. But seeing him also brought back the still-fresh memory of his betrayal.

Tears welled up from the back of her eyes and she allowed them to trickle down her cheeks as she continued to maintain her silent vigil from her chair by the window as he kept his from below.

Neither of them slept that night.

***

A/N: I'm so sorry peeps. I've just finished my extended hiatus and am back to writing fanfics. I'm so so sorry. I understand if you don't follow this series anymore, but I resolved to complete it as soon as possible.

You won't believe it; I started writing this chapter in February 2003. It's April 2004 now. Life has not been good for me with multiple exams last year.

I love you. Your reviews inspire my guilt to force me to keep going. I love ya.

Visit my blog at www.crapcity.blogspot.com. I will be using that blog for my writing activities.

Visit www.nuttyscribbler.blogspot.com to know about my real life.


	22. Part 20

**Chapter 20**

They say that the darkest part of the day is just minutes before sunrise, Mitsui thought dejectedly.

If it is, then it has been a very long few minutes. Just hours ago, he was so confident that he will find a way to make her see things his way. He will be able to make her tell him how much she loves him and how much she wants to be with him. Together, they will have a wonderful relationship, a wonderful wedding and start the wonderful process of making enough babies to start basketball team.

Make that two basketball teams – then they can play opposite each other and have mini-tournaments.

But within hours, his entire world had crashed down around him. He had been successfully tricked into the role of a heartbreaker. The girl he loves, yes, loves refuses to see him and her best friend had ordered his shaming removal from her front door by force. His teammates avoid him as though he is still the gang leader he was. Even Sakuragi, that thick-headed dope, refuses to beat him up. At least a physical beating can help ease his guilt.

If this was the few minutes before sunrise; the period of suffering he has to endure in order to prove to God his sincerity, he'll bear it will all the pride of the Mitsuis.

But he felt as though the sun will never rise. The streetlight died out and darkness enveloped him. He surrendered to it and let it lead him into the Morpheus' domain.

Ironically, minutes after he slipped into a deep slumber filled with bittersweet dreams, the sun he was waiting for did rise.

***

She had stared out of the window blankly the entire morning: staring at the figure illumined by the weak streetlight. She watched him spend the entire night sitting in the snow, against the cold metal pole of the street light, alternating between looking up at her window, tracing patterns in the snow and gazing off into space, lost in memories that made him smile sadly.

The street light had gone out and for a minute, she felt deeply uneasy.

When the first rays of the morning sun finally touched him, he look as still as one who had been touched by death.

Fear choked her and she found it very difficult to breathe and her first thought was to go down there and make sure he hasn't died. She rose from her seat too quickly having forgotten her injured ankle. It refused to bear her full weight and she went crashing onto the floor, knocking over the glass of water on the table by her chair. The sound breaking glass broke the peaceful silence in the apartment. 

Still single-minded in her efforts to get to him, she accidentally cut her hand on the broken pieces of glass.

"Akane-chan!"

Yuriko and Ayako stood at the doorway, looking her hand in horror – rivers of red streaming from the cut. It looked quite deep. They rushed to their fallen friend and helped her onto her bed.

"He's not worth it, Akane," Yuriko hissed as she grabbed some tissues and attempted to staunch the blood and stop the hemorrhaging.

Akane looked at her in a puzzled fashion. It finally dawned upon her that her friend thought she was attempting suicide because of Mitsui Hisashi.

"No," she tried to explain but Yuriko cut her off. "He's not worth it. He's not worthy of you, Akane-chan. If that bitch wants her, let her have him!" she said angrily as she continued to attend to her bleeding hand.

Ayako knelt down and took her uninjured hand in hers, "Are you alright?"

"I am now," Akane replied shakily, her icy resolve melting like the snow outside. "Please, go take a look at him. Take him away. If he stays out there any longer, he'll die. I know I shouldn't care, but I do. I don't want him to die," she whispered fearfully. 

Ayako and Yuriko both looked at her. They began to understand how much they meant to each other now. It wasn't just some high school fling, for both of them. If it was, Mitsui wouldn't have waited out there in the cold; wet, hungry, half frozen to death. If it was, Akane wouldn't have been hurt so terribly by his betrayal. 

If that was true, then could it be that this entire situation be a misunderstanding?

Even Yuriko was now prepared to shove aside her anger and prejudice against the man who hurt her friend so much to allow him the chance to present his side of this whole deplorable story.

Ayako held her hand a little longer before going out to call the Shohoku basketball team to remove their fallen comrade.

***

"Why can't we just leave him to freeze to death here? I think he deserves it."

The tall, fox-faced basketball player gave his red headed team mate a withering look.

"After all, if he freeze to death, then it won't be our fault he died – so oyaji can't suspend us, right?" the red headed player continued. "I'm such a brilliant tensai!" He laughed his trademark lunatic laugh that promptly sent sweat drops rolling down his team mates foreheads and Akagi's mighty fist to crash down on his head.

"Baka," Rukawa rolled his eyes.

"Teme, Kitsune!!!"

Kogure, having enough foresight or rather just experience to foresee that they will be treated to a spectacular re-run of the infamous Fox vs. "Tensai" match if someone did not interfere quickly stepped in between the two lighting rods of boys. He immediately felt intimidated by the towering height and was not so sure if he can separate them if they decided to carry on with their frequent lovers'-spat kinda argument. Figuratively speaking of course, since the idea of two of them together….

Kogure blushed. He decided he should stop secretly reading his sister's stash of boy-love manga. Clearly, it was screwing his brain up. He sighed mentally; at least some part of him is getting screwed.

Miyagi clapped his hands, drawing the bickering boys' attention. The bespectacled boy in between them sent a weak grateful smile his way. The new captain frowned – his senpai looks flushed.

Several months of being captain seemed to have infused Miyagi with a certain leadership quality. Of course, Ayako personally entrusting him with this mission to save both Mitsui's life and love life makes him determined not to disappoint her no matter what. After all, if Ayako were to tell her that she will be happy if he will jump off a cliff, he would do it just to make her happy.

Of course, that is just an example. Not to say he wouldn't jump off a cliff for her, but she won't ask that of him anyway – she loves him, right?

"Focus people, focus" he called out. "Focus on our cold, wet, freezing and probably half dead from pneumonia assistant coach and how to get him home."

"Do we have to?" Sakuragi whined, "He really, really deserves it," and proceeded to call Mitsui names that'll shock the devil himself.

"Yes," Miyagi replied. "Ayako-chan specifically told me that he has to be alive, healthy and in top form before the Kainan game and she will not be disappointed. You hear me?" There was a dangerous glint in his eyes that spoke of a very torturous death for anyone that prevents his Ayako-chan's wishes from being carried out expediently. It was enough to make Rukawa nod his head once. Sakuragi, on the other hand was bobbing his head up and down so fast that the rest were pretty sure it would fall off soon.

"Enough!" Akagi boomed. "Rukawa! Sakuragi! Assist Mitsui to the car! Everyone, head for the car! NOW!"

Of course, when Akagi speaks – everyone listens, knowing that the consequences would not be pretty if the ex-captain's orders were not carried out promptly. They all piled into Akagi's MPV, with Mitsui between Sakuragi and Rukawa in the backseat. The car was big – just like its owner. Miyagi took a seat in the second row and Kogure sat with Akagi in the front.

Akagi started the car and pulled away from the curb, driving down the street when Sakuragi said the most intelligent thing he ever said the entire day. Or possibly his entire life.

"Does anyone know where Mitchy live?"

***

"Wah…"

Miyagi had raised his eyebrows at the address Ayako had given him. Mitsui's apartment was indeed something to behold. Besides being situated in one of the poshest neighborhood in Kanagawa, in the poshest condominium block, it's a penthouse with two floors.

Conclusion: Mitsui Hisashi is filthy rich.

But that doesn't change the fact that he's unconscious right now.

"Ok," Kogure started, his usual maternal instinct kicking in when it is about his team mates. "We need to him out of those clothes and give him a warm bath."

"Bath?" Sakuragi, Miyagi and Rukawa looked at him blankly. 

"Yes. Bath. As in, cleaning your self with water, singing songs off key under a shower or playing with a rubber ducky in a bathtub of soapy water," Akagi replied irritably. "What is it about taking a bath that you three do not comprehend?

"Giving him a bath, as in giving him a bath with him wearing absolutely nothing?" Miyagi choked out. He looked as if he were about to faint.

Akagi's face changed into an impressive shade of pink. Under normal circumstances, seeing their dependable ex captain blush would have been a sight to be carefully observed and catalogued in their memory carefully, something for them to tell their grandkids one day. But frankly, the idea of giving a very naked Mitsui a bath was very disturbing.

"Well, we can't just leave him soaking wet," Kogure said helplessly.

They all looked at each other, hard when suddenly the doorbell rang. Kogure at once rushed over to answer the door.

"HI-CHAN!!!"

Kogure fell backward under the weight of a pair of beautiful females in their mid twenties dressed in low cut blouses and micro miniskirts (never mind that it is snowing outside) with identical features: blue-black hair and limpid blue eyes. He looked at them and immediately blushed realized that he was looking at their cleavage directly and them being in a most compromising position – two beautiful girls sprawled on top of him. It occurred to him that he was blushing a lot today.

"Oh… it's not Hi-chan," the one in a pink blouse said, sounding most disappointed.

"It doesn't matter; he's cute in a geeky way," her twin in a similar aqua blouse say as she proceeded to pinch Kogure's cheeks. "Almost as cute as our Hi-chan!"

The rest of the gang looked on with their mouths hanging open and secretly wishing that they could be in Kogure's position. 

"Hi-chan?" Rukawa raised his eyebrows.

"Are they hookers?" Sakuragi whispered curiously to no one in particular.

"I didn't know Mitsui was into older women," Miyagi added his own two cents, astonished.

"Then what is he doing with Katsura? No offence to her, but these two women is much prettier," Sakuragi argued.

Akagi cleared his throat and the two women climbed off Kogure. The bespectacled boy immediately got up to his feet and practically ran back to the safety of his teammates shadows.

"May I know who are you?" Akagi asked courteously, but firmly.

The women giggled furiously before the one in blue said, "I'm Yuya."

"And I'm Yuko," the one in pink chimed in.

"And we are Hi-Chan's elder sisters," the finished in unison.

"ELDER SISTERS?!!!"

***

Ghostwriter: I do not know what I was thinking when I wrote this.

Mitsui: [Glares] It is obvious to me you weren't thinking!"

Ghostwriter: [Miffed] You should be careful what you say to me young man, I'm the omnipotent author of this fanfic and you're at my mercy. I can make you jump off a cliff it so pleases me.

Mitsui: [Screams] At the rate this is going, I would prefer to jump off the cliff! Sakuragi thinks my sisters are prostitutes. I think they're a female clone of me physically but with the personality of Barbie!

Ghostwriter: Well… I'm not sure if you want to talk so loud….

Yuya and Yuko: Hi-Chan!!!! [Runs towards Mitsui]

Mitsui: Urg. I'll be back! [Glares at Ghostlie before running off]

Ghostwriter: [Shrugz] I told you so….

***

A/N: Chapter 20's up. Hope you all liked it. Thank you for all the lovely reviews – I love you all much. Will continue to work very, very hard on this story if you review. Loff ya~!

For updates of my works: www.crapcity.blogspot.com


End file.
